The Joy of Your Salvation

[Music] we hope you all had a inspiring pentecost weekend just two weekends ago and now we're looking forward to the feast of trumpets just three months from now and that is on september 7th 2021. god has called us as the firstfruits and he's given us an understanding of his plan of salvation that's an understanding that very few on the face of the earth even come close to understanding i'd like to encourage you as i talk about the god's plan of salvation today to see mr weston's telecast actually a sermon on our website uh what does salvation mean to you just go on our website and click on the sermons and mr weston's sermon what does salvation mean to you and another sermon god's master plan before time began so god has given us an awesome understanding of its love and purpose for each and every one of us and a whole plan that is revealed through the annual festivals and the holy days the professing christian world is confused and deceived many thinking that they're already saved they think that all they have to do is just say the name of jesus and they're once saved always saved they don't know the real truth about godly character they don't know the real truth about god's master plan of salvation they don't know how to be saved so today the world's experiencing the death has already experienced the death of more than 3 million people for the coronavirus pandemic and we know that the world is facing other causes for total cosmicide and the extinction of all life on earth in 1961 president john f kennedy stated quote mankind must put an end to war or war will put an end to mankind today every inhabitant of this planet must contemplate the day when the planet may be no longer habitable together we shall save our planet or together we shall perish in its flames end of quote sixty years after president kennedy that threat has only gone worse when we think about the extinction of all mankind we think about a deeper meaning and a more personal connection to the word salvation we pray thy kingdom come we're praying not only for ourselves we're praying for all humanity that god will save the human race and save them from total extinction so we pray that others will be saved and not just ourselves but what is the truth about spiritual salvation professing ministries and are trying to desperately get people to save they ask the question are you saved how many of you have been asked that question by someone have you been saved brother i say quite a few have you been asked that question about 32 percent we have a another sermon on our website i i actually found it this morning on lcg.org by mr rod mcnair by that very same title are you saved i would recommend you watch it i uh he had a little different appearance uh at that time that was a few years ago uh january uh 2015 and we had some uh facial hair you could watch that sermon but the world is confused about salvation satan has deceived millions in professing christians into thinking all you have to do is say jesus name and you're saved once saved always saved you don't have to do anything else they don't know how to change they don't realize that there is a a process of salvation well we we when we really understand the truth we realize one saved always saved is true once you really are saved that is when you're in the kingdom of god well we'll talk about that so turn to psalm 51 so what is salvation when do you receive it how do you answer the question have you been saved or are you saved psalm 51 i hope you read this often but and pray that god will create new his perfect character psalm 51 verse 10. create me a clean heart o god and renew a steadfast spirit within me so god is creating this masterpiece of creation and that's perfect righteous holy godly character in you and in me and every one of us but you you have your part do not cast me away from your presence do not take your holy spirit from me so david obviously had god's holy spirit restore to me the joy of your salvation and uphold me by your generous spirit the title of this sermon today is the joy of your salvation many of you have experienced that joy at baptism right after you were come up out of the water and you realize all my sins have been forgiven i've got great joy today i've been saved from the penalty of death and from all my past sins let's first talk about physical salvation many of us have experienced life-threatening situations and how many of you have gone through what you experienced as a life-threatening situation and feel that god intervened and saved you from death or something close to it wow quite a few i'd say that's a good 65 percent of you have experienced that i know we've all been through certain experience in auto accidents and and health issues uh it was 1970 when uh we were up in alaska for the feast of uh tabernacles at mount aliaska in alaska bill gordon and i and a couple other church members went goat hunting after after the feast and we saw some goats way up on the mountain so we started climbing up the mountain and i got to one place where it was 80 feet above the ground and i had just an inch to keep my toes on and i could not go up and i couldn't go down and i was just oh you know what can i do well thankfully our alaskan guide said mr ames there's a little little twig right up above you just you just reach up for it and you can grab it so oh anyway it took a little courage to do it and grab it and he grabbed my arm and i was rescued uh but it was a for me it was a life-threatening situation and god guided me and i was rescued from that situation and there were times when i was going through excruciating pain and some of you and some of our brethren are experiencing that even right now back pain and of course my wife had the ice pack and and that that was before cell phones and uh i had a a pot and a and a spoon i hang on bang on the pot when to call her attention i said oh this ice pack is all drained i need another ice pack for my back to keep down the pain well dr meredith came over one friday afternoon i was in bed i couldn't move and he anointed me and i went to sleep and about three hours later i woke up and i wonder i don't have any pain and just got up from the bed can i sit up yeah why are they gonna sit up can i actually move off the bed and sit on the edge of the bed yes can i even walk i can even walk before that day i couldn't even crawl and yet god healed me of that that back pain so all of us have gone through those kinds of problems and uh god has rescued people from physical challenges uh you're familiar and i think we've had this in some of our recent sermons on matthew 14. you're familiar with the story of peter walking on the water it said that actually peter said well lord command that i come out on the water well we were in israel when you go on the sea of galilee the tour guide will say anyone who want to try to walk on the water well no and but what did jesus say it said jesus commanded him to walk on the water so if any of you want to try walking on the water i wouldn't advise it unless christ commanded you to walk on the water but of course he saw the wind it was boisterous and he said lord save me and jesus let him drown no it didn't and how many times i won't ask you to raise your hands but have how many times have you prayed a lord save me or father in heaven please save me well peter did and then god saved him immediately but god also it's called salvation history where you look through the bible we actually the last hymn we just sang talking about god's great works and how he's intervened in many nations peoples and cities turn back to exodus the 14th chapter of as we rehearse this during the day of unleavened bread but it it ties in so much with being saved and so moses said to the people in verse 13 exodus 14 13 do not be afraid stand still and see the salvation of the eternal they needed saving they needed to be rescued and see the salvation of the eternal which he will accomplish for you today for the egyptians whom you see today you shall see again no more forever the eternal will fight for you and you shall hold your peace and so there are times when we have to stay still have the faith and the hope as we heard in the sermonette that god will intervene stand still and see the salvation of the lord it of course says that song be silent and know that i am about god there are times when we're silent and we wait for god to intervene for us but there are times when we have to act and so the next verse verse 15 and the eternal said to moses why do you cry to me tell the children of israel to go forward so there are times we stand still and see the salvation of god and there are other times where we need to go forward in verse 30 it says so the eternal saved israel that day out of the hand of the egyptians and israel saw the egyptians dead on the seashore let's take another example of salvation history in second kings the 19th chapter second kings the 19th chapter here judah was being surrounded and jehoshaphat uh called a a fast and uh and what did god do uh the people were basically starving and it said in second kings 19 verse 35 and it came to pass in a certain night that the angel of the eternal went out and killed in the camp of the assyrians 185 thousand you talk about an army you know we did israel didn't have to have an army at that cave that that time i mean judah and when people rose early in the morning they were there were the corpses all dead that's the new king james version the king james virgin a little more humorous so sennacherib king of assyria departed and went away returned home and remained at nineveh and there are other secular histories that confirm that major event a hundred and eighty thousand of the the angel of the eternal went out and killed in the camp of the assyrians 185 thousand and so there are other examples of of salvation history they give us hope and encouragement turn to hebrews the 11th chapter of course we have several examples mentioned there but hebrews the 11th chapter and we'll just take a look at one of them at the book at noah hebrews 11 and verse 7. hebrews 11 verse 7 by faith noah being divinely warned of things not yet seen moved with godly fear prepared an ark for the saving of his household prepared an ark for the saving of his household he took action by which he condemned the world and became the heir of righteousness which is according to faith and it might have taken him a hundred years to build that ark what kind talking about perseverance as we heard in the sermon at uh that was a great deal of perseverance of building that ark probably for more than a hundred years well we'll take one one more example in second chronicles the 20th chapter second chronicles the 20th chapter one more example of god's great intervention where he saved nations cities and peoples second chronicles uh 20 and this is the matter of uh jehoshaphat and uh jehoshaphat is claiming solomon's prayer for the protection at the sanctuary in verses eight and nine and of course they are totally surrounded by the people of moab and ammon and others it says in chapter 20 verse 1 they came to battle against jehoshaphat and he proclaimed the fast verse 3 well god said back to him gave an answer to him after that fast and after appealing for salvation and for deliverance from the enemy verse 17 of second chronicles 20 and you will not need to fight in this battle position yourselves stand still and see the salvation of the eternal who is with you o judah and jerusalem do not fear or be dismayed tomorrow go out against him for the eternal is with you so he told them to go out against the enemy but who went out first i think we've had in charlotte uh from time to time the choir or chorale and what did jehoshaphat say he said verse 20 middle of verse 20. hear o judah and inhabitants of jerusalem believe in the eternal your god we just had a beautiful special music i believe believe in the eternal your god and you shall be established believe his prophets and you shall prosper and when he had consulted with the people he appointed those who should sing to the eternal and who should praise the beauty of holiness as they went out before the army and were saying praise the eternal for his mercy endures forever so who fought this battle who went out first against all this army and all the against the soldiers it was the singers so those of you who are in the corral we'll need you in the future now you need to have that faith and courage to go out and battle you're going out first [Laughter] verse 22 now when they began to sing in praise the eternal sent ambushments against the people of ammon moab and malt sphere who had come against judah and they were defeated so the chorale was victorious god gave them a great victory so here we've seen several examples of god's salvation history if you will but the world still needs hate needs saving and you know matthew 24 verse 22 unless those days were shortened no flesh shall be saved of course as moffett has it saved alive but for the elect's sake those days will be shortened and then you also realize that the environment is going to be decimated i won't turn there but revelation 16 and verse 3 talking about the seven last plagues that the second angel poured out his bowl on the sea and it became blood as of a dead man and every living creature in the sea died so from the time of the feast of trumpets the day of atonement the feast of trumpets you have those nine days and the whole world would die uh if god does not intervene of course christ comes back just before the day of atonement revelation the 19th chapter to take the beast and the false prophet throw them in the lake of fire and then put satan away to begin the millennium so we look at the the god-self promise of salvation dr meredith wrote an article years ago in the tomorrow's world magazine may june 2007 titled you need salvation so this went out to all of our subscribers in tomorrow's world magazine one prisoner responded to that article from norton kansas he said i've had a lot of time on my hands lately i've been contemplating when my life is going an article the may june 2007 tomorrow's world magazine titled you need salvation struck me as very pertinent what i really want to ask about is baptism would this be possible for me being in prison so a minister was sent dr meredith wrote in that article and i'll quote from that article quote millions do not understand their need for salvation sadly many who believe they are saved are not even christian are you learning the truth about salvation and acting on it you need to be sure and of course mr armstrong wrote about the world the way it is the world thinks it's being saved that is the professing christians but mr armstrong wrote a booklet called a world held captive and that describes the way the world is today it's deceived satan has deceived the whole world revelation 12 9. and i was surprised to find out that actually we have a telecast tomorrow's world telecast by mr wally smith april 2011 are called a world held captive so you might want to check that on our website a world held captive telecast by mr wally smith so many in this world are slaves to sin and they're addicted to sin and the amazing addiction to drug abuse in the united states and in other places of the world is absolutely mind-boggling why do the drug cartels make so much money because they have a tremendous market in the united states i remember seeing a history channel uh program or as a national geographic that mentioned something like 35 percent or might have been 65 percent of the adults in alaska are drug addicted so you think one city 35 percent of the adults are taking drugs and are addicted to it we have that's just one of many vulnerabilities we have in the united states just incredible but the world needs to be saved they're slaves to addiction slaves to sin uh they need deliverance and they need god's salvation but there's a confusion over the word salvation what does that mean well of course that's a broad term by itself unless you have a context for this meaning mr herbert armstrong wrote mystery of the ages the world's view of salvations page 125 quote much supposed christian teaching has been that god created the first man a perfect immortal being that when god was not looking satan stole in and wrecked this wonderful handiwork of god salvation then is pictured as god's effort to repair the damage and to restore mankind back to a condition as good as when god first created him in doctrine after doctrine they have believed and taught the diametric opposite of the truths plainly revealed in the bible the international standard bible encyclopedia gives this description of salvation in the english verses of the bible the word salvation save are not technical theological terms but denote simply deliverance and god's delivered you god's delivered me in almost any sense the latter word can have in systematic theology however salvation denotes the whole process by which man is delivered from all that would prevent his attaining to the highest good that god has prepared for him or in a transferred sense salvation denotes the actual enjoyment of that good so i thought that was an unusual comment that salvation the world's supposed to mean it actually includes the enjoyment of the process so i'd like to ask you the question do you think about it are you enjoying salvation remember that david prayed restore to me the joy of your salvation and uphold me with your generous spirit the new king james virgin study bible uh under salvation the greek word for salvation used by paul literally means deliverance or preservation in a spiritual context the idea is rescue from the power and dominion of sin so does the bible refer to the gospel of salvation turn to romans the first chapter we have your bibles romans the first chapter we've had some church members in the past who are kind of upset that any term of gospel that is not the gospel of the kingdom of god is uh departing from the faith of mr herbert herbert armstrong well what did the apostle paul write here in romans 1 the first romans 1 verse 16. for i am not ashamed of the gospel of christ now here's not called the gospel of the kingdom of god it's called the gospel of christ what does that mean the good news of christ so if you put in good news for every time they hear the word gospel that gives you a better understanding the good news of christ and it is the power of god to salvation so the gospel of christ the the news that jesus christ is giving is a power for of god to salvation for everyone who believes for the jew first and also the great for in it the righteousness of god is revealed from faith to faith as it is written the just shall live by faith so we honor mr armstrong but when someone says if you're not go preaching only the gospel of the kingdom of god you're departing from mr armstrong they have what we call the either or fallacy it's either the kingdom of god or it's not in romans 1 16 we see it's the gospel of christ the power of god of salvation ephesians 1 turn to ephesians 1 verse 13. and so we have different descriptions of the good news that god reveals through the whole bible ephesians the first chapter ephesians 1 and starting with the verse 13. ephesians 1 verse 13 in him you also trusted after you heard the word of truth the gospel of your salvation uh-oh that's not the gospel of the kingdom of god it's the gospel of your salvation it's the good news of your salvation in whom also having believed you were sealed with the holy spirit of promise so god is using the expressions of good news in various terminology describes it in various ways some years ago i had a commentary prophecy versus the gospel and the one critic attacked my commentary because the last sentence in that commentary said thank god for the true gospel of salvation and his coming kingdom and he said well mr armstrong said that you have to believe that the the gospel of the kingdom of god well of course what you're addressing here again is the either or fallacy it's not either the kingdom of god or the gospel of salvation it's both in all the terms as jesus said the the gospel does not contradict itself the bible does not contradict itself the terms gospel harmonize with the kingdom of god in fact you have several gospel descriptions here and the gospel of the grace of god we just saw the gospel of your salvation that's good news so anyone anyone that is a critic is also criticizing the bible of course we know that the main message that christ brought mark 1 verse 14 and 15 was he came preaching the gospel of the kingdom of god and said repent and that's a part of the message many miss but we have the gospel of the grace of god that's acts 20 and verse 24. so that's a good news of the grace of god the gospel of the glory of christ second corinthians 4 and verse 4. the gospel of your salvation we just read in ephesians 1 verse 13 the gospel of peace ephesians 6 and verse 15. so this matter of either or fallacy is you know comes down to uh works and law or like in james in the second chapter uh faith and works you know it's not faith or works as james says in james 2 verse 18 but some will say you have faith and i have works oh they're two opposites they're not compatible oh yes they are compatible james says show me your faith without your works and i will show you my faith by my works you believe that there is one god you do well even the demons believe and are troubled and tremble so it's not either or it's both and and even william barkley in his commentary on james that says not either or but both and it's not just thought or action it's thought and action it's not prayer or effort it's prayer and effort it's not faith or deeds it's faith and deeds that we could go on with law or grace so what we discuss it's not law or grace it's law and grace when you understand the context of it so what is salvation salvation is deliverance it's perseverance and it's god's grace and all of these descriptions of various gospels harmonize with the gospel of the kingdom of god they're not in contradiction to it they support the kingdom of god gospel good news and they harmonize with it now next i want to talk about the three tenses of salvation salvation is not just a one-time event as the protestants have it once saved always saved it's past present and future there are three tenses return to romans the fifth chapter which are very familiar romans the 5th chapter and here we have the future salvation romans 5 and this whole section is so inspiring and encouraging uh starting with verse 8 romans 5 verse 8 but god just demonstrates his own love toward us and that while we were still sinners christ died for us much more than having now been justified by his blood we shall be saved from wrath through him that's future we shall be saved for if when we were enemies were reconciled to god through the death of his son much more having been reconciled how shall we be saved we shall be saved by his life yes christ is alive and he's here in present spirited today and he's on the throne of god as our high priest ever making intercession for us so we have the future of course what's another verse that is future matthew 24 13 he that endures to the end the same shall be saved that's the future tense so you have the future tense of salvation now there's a present tense of salvation turn to second corinthians the second chapter ii corinthians the second chapter we've been saved of our past sins the wages of sin is death but the gift of god is eternal life through jesus christ our lord so we've been saved from the death penalty second corinthians the second chapter and verse 15. ii corinthians 2 and verse 15. for we are to god the fragrant of fragrance of christ among those who are being saved present progressive tense it's not that the salvation is already complete we are all works in progress god is still working with us we still have a long way to go i have a i have a lot more to overcome and i need need some more years for overcoming are being saved and among those who are perishing so there are those who are in the process even of perishing and why are we in the progress and process of salvation because we must grow in the grace and the knowledge of christ ii peter 3 18. so we are ultimately saved by the death of christ if we were there would be no need to grow spiritually but we are now being saved and then there is the past tense of salvation i've already commented on that several times but turn to titus third chapter titus the third chapter and uh verse 4 but when the kindness and love of god our savior toward man appeared that's titus 3 and verse 4 is god our savior toward man appeared verse 5 not by works of righteousness which we have done not according but according to his mercy he saved us through the washing of gen regeneration and renewing of the holy spirit what's the washing of jew regeneration there's a baptism and so when we were baptized we come up out of the water we have been forgiven of our past sins we have been saved from the death penalty we have been saved from our past sins in fact there are some some scriptures we'll maybe get to that a little later so we have the past present and future aspects of salvation now in acts the second chapter we know about peter's inspiring commentary and telling people to repent and that they would be forgiven of their sins return to acts 2 in verse 40 acts 2 and verse 40. so do we have some action to take with regard to the salvation process acts 2 and verse 40. so remember he said in acts 2 38 that they should repent then acts 2 and verse 40. and with many other words he testified and exhorted them saying be saved from this perverse generation and those who gladly received his word were baptized in that day about 3 000 souls were added to them so he said you need to take action you need to be saved from this perverse generation and how did they do that they were baptized about 3 000 of them the king james version says save yourselves from this untoward generation the niv says save yourselves from this corrupt generation and what kind of a generation are we in now corrupt perverse untoward we're having to face that kind of society and we pray and call upon people to save themselves from this corrupt and corrupt generation but i mentioned about being uh saved from your past sins let's turn to romans 3 and verse 23 romans 3 23 just to confirm again the matter of our past forgiveness of sins and having been saved from the death penalty the past action romans 3 and verse 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of god being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in christ jesus whom god set forth as a propitiation by his blood through faith to demonstrate his righteousness because of his forbearance god had passed over the sins that were previously committed god does not at baptism save you so that you are forgiven of your future sins of the sins that were previously committed so so thankfully god has given us that wonderful freedom from sins that are passed the king james 7 king james version says for the remission of sins that are past so how do you answer the question are you saved how would you answer that question i could answer it and you could too i have been saved for my past sins by the blood of christ i am now being saved growing in the grace and knowledge of christ and i shall be saved by christ's life romans 5 10. so we're going to be saved by christ's life we need to focus on our savior and talk about our savior for the time being let's turn to matthew the first chapter matthew 5 matthew the first chapter matthew 1 you know there are so many titles and names for our savior but one of them of course is the savior of the world and he's our personal savior matthew 1 and verse 20. this is the announcement to mary that she's going to be found with child matthew 1 and verse 20. but while he thought about these things behold an angel of the lord appeared to in a dream saying do not be afraid to take mary your wife for that which is conceived in her is the holy spirit and she shall bring forth a son and you shall call his name jesus for he shall save his people from their sins not in their sins but from their sins so he suffered and bled and died and remember that we read in romans 5 and verse 8 but god demonstrates his own love toward us and that while we were yet sinners christ died for us turn to hebrews the 7th chapter hebrews 7 and we see the love and action and concern of our savior toward each and one of each and every one of us in hebrews 7 and verse 25 talking about christ as the high priest therefore he is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to god through him since he always lives to make intercession for them so christ is always there as your lawyer he's there as your advocate so thank god for that and remember of course john the baptist said behold the lamb of god who takes away the sins of the world he's called the savior of the world we'll take a look at that here briefly john the fourth chapter john 4 that is an awesome title and responsibility savior of the world all these various religions they can't save the world the ones there's only one one person who can do that john 4 and verse 42 john 4 remember the woman at the well went back and told the people of samaria about the messiah and they wanted him to stay a couple days which he did and he taught them and spoke to them for a couple days matthew 4 and verse 42 then they said to the woman now we believe not because of what you said for we ourselves have heard him and we know that this is the christ the savior of the world thank god he is the savior of the world and it's also mentioned in first john 4 and verse 14 and we have seen and testified that that the father has sent the son as savior of the world that's first john 4 and verse 14. and we're going to be saved by his life he is our loving living savior so who is our savior the messiah jesus christ who takes away the sins of the world he's now saving us as we grow in the grace and knowledge of christ and he's given us this impromptu this encouraging promise philippians 1 and verse 6. i know some of us sometimes get a little worried and you get a little double-minded well am i am i going to make it into the kingdom of god and yet god gives us the exceeding great and precious promises that you will make it into the kingdom as he tells us here in philippians the first chapter one of those great promises and if you're kind of worried about your salvation but just remember philippians 1 and verse 3. the apostle paul writes to the philippians i thank god upon every remembrance of you always in every prayer of mine making requests for you all with joy so one of the themes of the sermon today is joy he makes requests with you with joy for your fellowship and all the gospel the first day until now being confident of this very thing that he who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of jesus christ so god's not going to let you go he's going to correct you he's going to guide you but you need to respond of course to that correction and that guidance and we all face trials we asked ask god for deliverance and i asked you earlier before how many of you don't raise your hands have asked god to save you let's turn back to psalm 6. psalm 6. king david certainly asked god to save him on more than one occasion and hear find in psalm 6 one of those occasions 6 psalm 6 1 o eternal do not rebuke me in your anger nor chasten me in your heart displeasure have mercy on me o eternal for i am weak o eternal heal me for my bones are troubled o my soul also is greatly troubled but you o eternal how long return o eternal deliver me o save me for your mercy's sake but when david asked god to save him he gave a reason well why why should i save you david gives this answer oh save me for your mercy sake for in death there's no remembrance of you in the grave who will give you thanks if you let me die you're not going to be able to hear me saying thank you and praising you you need to keep me alive so i can continue to keep praising you and and worshiping you save me and of course he goes on uh also in uh i think it's in psalm 7 psalm 7 okay he says judge me o eternal according to my righteousness according to my integrity with me psalm 7 and verse 8. so psalm 7 verse 1 o eternal my god and you i put my trust save me from all those who persecute me and deliver me uh psalm 54 we sang this uh him i guess on occasion we sell it i sing it at home every once in a while um it's actually page 35 in our hymnal uh psalm 54. save me o god by your great name and judge me by your strength is the way the the hymn goes or in here it says vindicate me so when you read in the psalms where god says judge me it doesn't mean doesn't mean to condemn me it means to deliver me or in this case vindicate me by your strength save me o god by your name and judge me by your strength hear my prayer o god give ear to the words of my mouth for strangers have risen up against me so i enjoy that hymn number uh page number 35 and uh turn back to psalm 35 and verse 3. psalm 35 and verse 3. the psalm of david he's asking god to plead his cause and he says verse 3 also draw out the spear and stop those who pursue me say to my soul i am your salvation so david knew that god was his salvation so how would you describe your relationship to god to realize here david was close to god asked him to save him on several accounts and we know in james 4 and verse 8 he says draw near to god and i will draw near to you that's one of the two initiatives and of course resist the devil and he will flee from you mr armstrong talked about the two initiatives there in james 4 and verse 8. 8 draw near to god it's one of the initiatives and then resist the devil and he will flee from you as the other initiative in the july 2021 tomorrow's world magazine and some of you have already received the june issue but not the july issue some of you got the digital june issue for tomorrow's world magazine but i was just reviewing the july issue and uh an article by mr gerald weston on examine your relationship to god and christ as uh the title is is god actually real to you now of course this is written to 400 000 tomorrow's world subscribers but still church members can take the message as well is god actually real to you it's uh the july 2021 tomorrow's world magazine uh page 8 and he writes in that if god is real to us and if we truly believe there is a reward for obeying him we will strive to keep his commandments we will forsake the holidays of this world that to put the name of christ on pagan practices we will keep his sabbaths the seventh-day weekly sabbath and the annual sabbaths we will allow nothing and no one to deter us from obedience to our lord and savior that's part of the message today brethren as a matter of examining yourself and asking yourself how committed am i to the kingdom of god am i going to persevere all the way as we heard in the sermon sermonette we have the hope to be on a straight line to the kingdom of god are you totally committed he said draw an ear to god and he will draw near to you it's a promise and i know every every one of us sometimes are spiritually weak and we need to claim god's promise we need to pursue it we read was that in the sermon this morning about going at the straight gate narrow is the way to the to the kingdom of god so we have to persevere turn to philippians the second chapter yeah mr weston quotes matthew 10 verses 32 and 39 but he who loves father and mother more than me is not worthy of me yes mr weston concludes the article yes if god is real to us we will put him first above all else these words come straight from jesus himself so i ask again is he real to you is he real enough for you to obey him and put him before all else if not isn't it time to change so we pray that that article will have an impact on many thousands if not all 400 000 or more subscribers and their families turn to philippians 2 verse 12 and again this is one of my favorite scriptures to help us confirm that yes we can make it into the kingdom it's one of god's precious promises of course we have our part in the whole process we are being saved philippians 2 and verse 12 therefore my beloved as you have always obeyed not as in my present only but now much more in my absence work out your own salvation with fear and trembling you know god tells us to have that godly fear and reverence at the same time he tells us to rejoice so i pray every day that i can have that reverence and fear of god and at the same time rejoice in the lord don't come across that scripture later on but he said work out your own salvation with fear and trembling well is that by your own works the niv study bible says this makes this comment work it out to the finish not a reference to the attempt to earn one's own salvation by works but to but the expression of one's salvation in spiritual growth and development i'm surprised that the niv is saying yes it's a process you have to develop spiritually you have to grow spiritually niv study bible salvation is not merely a gift received once for all which is what many protestants believe it is expresses itself in an ongoing process in which the believer is strenuously involved the process of perseverance spiritual growth and maturation so what is the answer to work out your own salvation with fear and trembling we'll look at the next verse of course it gives us the answer and i claim this promise many times for it is god who works in you both to will and to do for his good pleasure no they're a weak willed person so the bible gives the example of uh several jacob and esau as a esau was a weak willed person and some of us may be weak willed but you need to strengthen that will and ask god to help you to strengthen that will because it's him that works in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure but we have a responsibility to endure to the end you know he turned to hebrews the first chapter hebrews the first chapter yes we've had sermons on perseverance and the sermon had even us today uh remarked on that particular theme illustrated that hebrews 1 and just to mention here verse 8 he says to the son your throne o god is forever and ever so even jesus christ the son is called god here but he's contrasting it to the angels there verse 13. but to which of the angels has he ever said sit at my right hand till i make your enemies your footstool are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation so your heirs of the kingdom your heirs of eternal life your heirs of the earth you will inherit the meek shall inherit the earth and you shall also inherit salvation chapter 2 but we have a responsibility therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard lest we drift away you know we get so much information when the living church knows in tomorrow's world magazine but i hope you're reading that i i try to underline i it's an old-fashioned method i use you know just going through an article in tomorrow's world magazine underlining in ink those particular phrases and and admonitions that are meaningful and uh that's that's an old way of doing it but it's meaningful to me and helps to impress upon my mind the importance of particular admonitions and destructions instructions therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard lest we drift away for if the word spoken through angels proved steadfast and every transgression or disobedience received a reward how shall we escape if we neglect so great of salvation that's the laodiceans they're neglecting a great salvation but you have to work every day and be close to god so that you don't fall away you don't neglect such great salvation and it tells us in in verse 10 for if the fitting for him for whom are all things and by whom are all things bringing many sons to glory to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings so you have a captain of your salvation so we need to submit to god turn to psalm 25. psalm 25 and i've mentioned it certain lectures to the living education students and protocol and you know you need when all else fails follow instructions well you of course the reverse is true uh to prevent failure follow instructions in the first place i've told you before i think it was my freshman year and mr herbert armstrong in a bible study the shakespeare club in pasadena said now you need to memorize this scripture you need to know this and i think he was talking mainly to the freshman class that had come to ambassador that year psalm 25 verse 4 show me your ways o lord teach me your paths lead me in your truth and teach me yes we're disciples we're students of christ we're teachable hopefully we're teachable for you are the god of my salvation on you i wait all the day turn over to psalm 27 psalm 27 and uh verse one and of course this is one of the popular choral songs the eternal is my light and my salvation whom shall i fear the eternal is my strength the strength of my life of whom shall i be afraid yes the lord is my light and my salvation so when god tells us to work on our own salvation with fear and trembling ask god to save you ask god to have him work in you both to will and to do of your good pleasure because he promises as we read in hebrews 7 25 that he can save you to the uttermost is in the king james version we're called to do god's work so what should our daily attitude be i mentioned the reverence of god the fear of god we have several sermons on that we could have another sermon on that soon but what did paul write in philippians 4 verse 4 apparently it was one of mrs armstrong's favorite scriptures philippians 4 verse 4. rejoice in the lord always and again i say rejoice and remember the apostle paul was writing this from prison and he uses that term rejoice throughout the book of philippians several times so what is your daily attitude should you rejoice how do you serve god what is your attitude in serving him of course he came christ came that we might have life and have it more abundantly so we can have a joyful attitude yes there are times to mourn we know that and there are times when we enter into verse trials but we count at joy even though we're going through a trial but psalm 100 says make a joyful noise a joyful shout to the lord all you lands make a joyful shout to the lord serve the lord with gladness psalm 100 verse 2 serve the lord with gladness [Music] what should your attitude be every day serve the lord with gladness and he also pronounces the curse on those who don't serve him with cheerfulness we might just turn back there to deuteronomy 28 uh verse 47. deuteronomy 28 is the blessing is cursing imagine what he's saying here you need to appreciate all the wonders and blessings god gives you deuteronomy 27 deuteronomy 28 and verse 40 77 all these curses are come upon you verse 47 deuteronomy 28 because you did not serve the lord your god with joy and gladness of heart for the abundance of everything are you serving the lord your god with joy and gladness of heart if not it's a curse and all these curses will come upon you and you shall serve your enemies he says in verse 48. so our attitude has to be one of rejoicing one of serving god with the cheerfulness and gladness of heart and to serve him with joy in fact joy is one of the fruits of the holy spirit it's the second fruit of the holy spirit love joy peace longsuffering so we all need to be reflecting and producing the joy of service and the joy of god's spirit you've heard this before but i want to emphasize it again how is it that you grow spiritually you serve god with gladness of heart with the joy and cheerfulness of heart mr armstrong emphasized the vital key of serving god in his work in his coworker letter of november 18 1974 mr armstrong said and god has given us the work to do with the very means as the very means by which we may grow spiritually and god has given us the work to do as the very means by which we grow spiritually so we may enter his kingdom at christ's coming in 47 years i have observed that only those whose hearts are fully in the work continue to overcome and grow spiritually and endure through the years i with those added for the their part in the work continued to announce the wonderful news of the coming kingdom of god and all that message embodied never have we sought to get but always to give the good news of god's truth so brethren i hope that we are committed and i hope from this day you will re reflect on your own attitude how committed are you are you 100 committed to the kingdom of god are you trusting that god is going to save you has he started a good work in you that he's going to complete that work in you so we need to be doing the work of god we're going to complete that work to the very end we're called to do the work of preaching the gospel of the kingdom of god but it is also the gospel of your salvation as we read in the scriptures it's the good news of your salvation and daniel 12 3 says those that are wise shall shine like the brightness of the firmament and those who turn many to righteousness like the stars forever and ever so god has given us the work to do the very means by which we may grow spiritually and turn many to righteousness which the work is very powerfully doing and when will the complete salvation take place when will we finally be saved turn to first corinthians the 15th chapter first corinthians the 15th chapter we know that that's when we will be saved from mortality we will now inherit immortality at the resurrection first corinthians 15 and verse 50. now this i say brethren that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of god nor does corruption inherit corruption behold i tell you a mystery we shall not all sleep but we should all be saved changed in a moment a twinkling of an eye at the last trumpet for the trumpet shall sound and the dead shall be raised incorruptable and we shall be changed for this corruptable must put on corruption and this mortal must put on corrupt immortality so that when this corruptable has put on incorruption and this mortal has put on immortality then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written death is swallowed up in victory and then verse 57 but thanks be to god who gives us the victory through our lord jesus christ many in the world believe that salvation is only a past event that you concept christ and that's it you're saved once saved always saved but we know that salvation is a past present and future process so if someone were to ask you the common question are you saved or have you been saved you can answer i have been justified redeemed and saved from my past sins i am now being saved as i grow in the grace and knowledge of christ and i shall be ultimately saved by christ's life dr douglas renald's world ahead commentary we had read in the announcement said staying focused on the glorious hope and yes we need to stay focused on the glorious hope though god has given us freedom from slavery to sin he's given us the promise of eternal life as it tells us in hebrews 11 13 these all died in faith and we could say even christy mcnair and others these all died in faith not having received the promise but having seen them afar off were assured of them embrace them and confess that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth so thank god for the gift of salvation thank god for the awesome plan of salvation so let's rejoice in the lord always and again i say rejoice and let's always pray as king david prayed restore to me the joy of your salvation you

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Published: Fri Sep 17 2021