OLD THINGS PASS AWAY!

2nd Corinthians, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old thing have passed away; behold, all things have become new…”

Good afternoon...

I was at a meeting yesterday concerning proper operating procedures on the Military base where I occasionally preach …

It was a good time of fellowship…We had several good devotions…had some good food for lunch…It was a really good time…

Every Sunday there are several hundred men and women that will come to the Chapel services and also the Religious Education Training on this base…

In these services the Word of God is proclaimed…These young recruits get to hear the gospel of Christ…They are confronted with the opportunity to make a decision to accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior…

Several of the team members at the meeting yesterday were concerned because, some of the instructions that we went over stated that, at decision time, the preachers or teaches were not allowed to cohere or force the recruits, in anyway, to make a decision for Christ…and listen, I agree totally that we should not try to force a decision for Christ in any way what so ever... all we need to do is share the gospel and leave the results up the God...

We must always be aware that we cannot save anybody…Only God does the saving…

Being saved, or making a decision to follow Christ, must come totally from God… Now don’t get me wrong…God needs helpers…and we are His hands and feet and mouth pieces in this world…In other words, we are His servants…But it is God Himself that does all the saving…

There are so many men and women in the services that we are involved in, until it is almost impossible to get to talk to each one when they have made their decision…so we give out information cards…

These cards have a line or place on them so that the recruits can put all their personal information on the card…and also there is a place where they can put a check if they have received Christ that day…

These cards are for the Military Chaplains…They can check out each card and see if the recruit has made any type of decision, and they can follow up with that decision…

Often, some of these young people will walk down to the front of the church service wanting to visibly profess their faith in Jesus…but ONE point I want to make with this little lesson is this…People do not have to walk down to the front of a church to receive Christ as Lord and Savior...An individual does not have to put a check on any type of card to become born again…

You do not become a Christian by just asking Jesus into your heart, although this is certainly a big part…You become a Christian when you are born again…Jesus said, “Unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God…” (John 3:3.)

Being born again takes surrender of the persons, heart, soul, mind and strength to God…

Saying a prayer or making a public commitment or signing a decision card will not save you…Only being born again will do that…

The Apostle Paul said that when you are, “In Christ,” the old things pass away…In the moment of your salvation, every sin you ever committed is forgiven…Healing for every hurt you have ever suffered is available…

Love and acceptance are yours despite every failure you have ever experienced…Your past, no matter how difficult or painful, is completely and thoroughly provided for…

SEED PLANTING & GIFTS…

In the life of every person that is born again, somewhere along the path in his or her life, God has been planting seeds…Often the Gospel seed must be sowed several times before it will take root…Often peoples hearts are hard and they do not or cannot listen, until the Holy Ghost does His part in the cultivation of the hard soil in a hard heart…sometimes He uses pain to soften the hard soil…(can i have a witness!)

Sometimes He may use something you and I have said, to inspire the person to go-ahead with their decision…but… it is not us that does the saving…

ONLY GOD SAVES…THROUGH CHRIST…

God plants the seeds and people like you and I come along and water that seed with our words and actions…Remember faith is not just a noun but also an action word…

We must put our faith into action as God’s workmanship…

Ephesians 2:10, “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do…”

We are God’s workmanship (work of art or masterpiece)…Our salvation is something only God can do…It is His powerful, creative work in us…It is Christ in us…!

Although we cannot save anyone, we are still an important part of a great big team… “The Church…”

Our oneness in Christ does not destroy our individuality…The Holy Spirit has given each Christian special gifts for building up the church…Now that we have these gifts, it is crucial to use them…

Are you spiritually mature, exercising the gifts God has given you?

If you know what your gifts are, look for opportunities to serve…If you don’t know what your gifts are, ask God to show you, but until you know, just start serving in whatever capacity you can find…Often as we serve, our gifts will come to the surface…Then, as you begin to recognize your special area of service, use your gifts to strengthen and encourage the church…

God has given His church an enormous responsibility…”To make disciples in every nation…” This involves, teaching, preaching, healing, nurturing, giving, administering, building, and many other task…

If we had to fulfill this command as individuals, we might as well give up without trying…because it would be impossible…But God calls us as members of His body for His good purpose…

Some of us can do one task, some can do another…Together we can obey God more fully than any of us could alone…

It is a human tendency to overestimate what we can do by ourselves and to underestimate what we can do as a group…but as the body of Christ, we can accomplish more together than we could dream possible working by ourselves…As we work together in the Body of Christ, we can express the fullness of Christ…

Thanks and remember, Do not underestimate yourself and what you can do, “In Christ…”

With Christ in you, you can do many good things, but without Him you are nothing…

We cannot save anyone but we can do our part in helping Our Father with the honor of serving His people in this world…

Rev. Robert N. Graves, Sr. Fisherman for Christ…