Why Doesn’t The Bible WORK For Me?
Consider the Word of God:
Matthew 11:28-30 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
-Are you working hard and burdened by many things?
Do you have rest? No? Why not?
-Have you been learning from Jesus? Is the Bible exciting to you?
If the answer is NO, Why not?
Philippians 4:19 But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.
Do you STILL have needs that you can’t meet?
-Are you always financially strapped?
-Are you unemployed and CAN’T find a job?
-Is your heart troubled and you cannot find peace?
-Is your health bad and getting WORSE?
Why is it this way?
Do you BELIEVE that Jesus is the Lord and has died for your sins?
Are you going to church and singing and putting money in the basket?
Are you reading the Bible and praying?
If you have been doing all these things and STILL the promises of the Scriptures aren’t coming to you, what is wrong?
I’ve spoken with a number of people this week (at least three) that have been very dissatisfied with their churches, their pastors and even dissatisfied with God.
-They said that “going to church” just isn’t worth the TROUBLE.
-They said that the promises don’t seem to actually MEAN anything,
nothing changes...
-They say the messages are BORING and they don’t want to “seek the
Lord”.
I needed to explain something to EACH one of them:
The promises that they cited weren’t meant for them!!
Those promises are for those that have BELIEVED the Gospel and surrendered their lives to Jesus as their Savior and Lord.
Those promises are for those that have received the Holy Spirit and His power. The promises of the Kingdom are for those who are BORN AGAIN!
In Matthew 11:28, when Jesus said “Come unto me…”, He wasn’t talking about going to church, He was talking about surrendering to Him.
In Matthew 11:29, when Jesus said “Take my yoke upon you…”, He was talking about WORKING with Him!
In Philippians 4:19, God promises to supply all the needs of those who are in Christ. And in proportion to how much GLORY Christ is showing in them!
The Bible is like a big Display Window:
-You can see the wonderful things that are for sale (perhaps
jewelry or beautiful clothing or delicious things to eat).
-Perhaps the store itself (the Bible "store" is the Kingdom
of God) isn’t visible to the unbelievers, but in the church
you can find people that have been inside the Store and
want to tell you about it…
-Unfortunately, EVERYTHING is too expensive!
When Jesus died on the cross for us, He bought EVERYTHING in the Kingdom of God!!
Matthew 28:18-19 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.
19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
Imagine if you were at a new friend’s house and he had one of those catalog books. The ones that show the hundreds of products available to you through their business. Your friend encourages you to look through it: he thinks you will really like some of them.
Well, it’s interesting for a while because some of that stuff you’ve never seen before. The quality looks really high, but so do the prices…
After a time, you put down the catalog and want to do other things. Your friend asks “What’s wrong?”. You say you’re kind of bored…
What if he smiled at you and said “You don’t understand. My father owns this store and you can have whatever you want for free: you just have to ask…”?
Well, THAT changes things, doesn’t it?
Let’s look at how the Gospel actually works:
Acts 2:37-39 Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart (they believed what was preached about Jesus), and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?
38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
39 For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.
If you don’t believe, you won’t repent (surrender to God).
Romans 10:14 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?
“Preaching” means “to make understood”. If you don’t understand what I am saying on this web-site, then I am not preaching. Please find a preacher that helps you UNDERSTAND the Bible…
Baptism (being immersed) into Christ is not baptism into water. It means that you are giving your WHOLE LIFE into Jesus’ service! You are SURRENDERING yourself to God.
(Note: that’s what the “baptism of repentance” means)
What is the PURPOSE of WATER baptism? It is a PUBLIC STATEMENT that you have given your life to Jesus Christ and FROM NOW ON, you will SERVE GOD!!
There are those that have believed and been baptized in water, but they didn’t repent. These poor folk continue to live lives without the Holy Spirit and His power to free them from sin. They feel guilty and think that they are bad Christians because they continue to live in sin. It is possible that they are not yet Christians…
Receiving the Holy Spirit is not a theological decision. Nor can you “deduce” that you have received Him because you have prayed a prayer or believed something or been baptized in water. The scripture tells us what to look for:
Acts 1:8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
2 Corinthians 5:17-18 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
18 And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;
The ministry of Jesus Christ is a ministry of reconciliation. That means trying always to convince people to surrender to God and serve Him in Christ. When we have been filled with the Holy Spirit, He confirms that what we are telling others about Jesus is true.
The Holy Spirit moves with signs and wonders to convince each person who hears the Gospel of Jesus that it is TRUE.
Mark 16:20 And they went forth, and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen.
I can say this about those people that complained to me about the churches and the Bible:
-Each one of them realized that they had NOT given their lives to
God for His service.
-Each one admitted that they had not as yet received the Holy
Spirit (regardless of whether they had “spoken in tongues”).
-Each one of them listened to the explanation very seriously.
Now, it’s up to our precious Helper (actually, He does the real work). We must trust the Holy Spirit to do for each of these thirsting souls whatever it takes to convince them that
Jesus IS our Messiah!!
Consider the Word of God:
Matthew 11:28-30 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
-Are you working hard and burdened by many things?
Do you have rest? No? Why not?
-Have you been learning from Jesus? Is the Bible exciting to you?
If the answer is NO, Why not?
Philippians 4:19 But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.
Do you STILL have needs that you can’t meet?
-Are you always financially strapped?
-Are you unemployed and CAN’T find a job?
-Is your heart troubled and you cannot find peace?
-Is your health bad and getting WORSE?
Why is it this way?
Do you BELIEVE that Jesus is the Lord and has died for your sins?
Are you going to church and singing and putting money in the basket?
Are you reading the Bible and praying?
If you have been doing all these things and STILL the promises of the Scriptures aren’t coming to you, what is wrong?
I’ve spoken with a number of people this week (at least three) that have been very dissatisfied with their churches, their pastors and even dissatisfied with God.
-They said that “going to church” just isn’t worth the TROUBLE.
-They said that the promises don’t seem to actually MEAN anything,
nothing changes...
-They say the messages are BORING and they don’t want to “seek the
Lord”.
I needed to explain something to EACH one of them:
The promises that they cited weren’t meant for them!!
Those promises are for those that have BELIEVED the Gospel and surrendered their lives to Jesus as their Savior and Lord.
Those promises are for those that have received the Holy Spirit and His power. The promises of the Kingdom are for those who are BORN AGAIN!
In Matthew 11:28, when Jesus said “Come unto me…”, He wasn’t talking about going to church, He was talking about surrendering to Him.
In Matthew 11:29, when Jesus said “Take my yoke upon you…”, He was talking about WORKING with Him!
In Philippians 4:19, God promises to supply all the needs of those who are in Christ. And in proportion to how much GLORY Christ is showing in them!
The Bible is like a big Display Window:
-You can see the wonderful things that are for sale (perhaps
jewelry or beautiful clothing or delicious things to eat).
-Perhaps the store itself (the Bible "store" is the Kingdom
of God) isn’t visible to the unbelievers, but in the church
you can find people that have been inside the Store and
want to tell you about it…
-Unfortunately, EVERYTHING is too expensive!
When Jesus died on the cross for us, He bought EVERYTHING in the Kingdom of God!!
Matthew 28:18-19 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.
19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
Imagine if you were at a new friend’s house and he had one of those catalog books. The ones that show the hundreds of products available to you through their business. Your friend encourages you to look through it: he thinks you will really like some of them.
Well, it’s interesting for a while because some of that stuff you’ve never seen before. The quality looks really high, but so do the prices…
After a time, you put down the catalog and want to do other things. Your friend asks “What’s wrong?”. You say you’re kind of bored…
What if he smiled at you and said “You don’t understand. My father owns this store and you can have whatever you want for free: you just have to ask…”?
Well, THAT changes things, doesn’t it?
Let’s look at how the Gospel actually works:
Acts 2:37-39 Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart (they believed what was preached about Jesus), and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?
38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
39 For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.
If you don’t believe, you won’t repent (surrender to God).
Romans 10:14 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?
“Preaching” means “to make understood”. If you don’t understand what I am saying on this web-site, then I am not preaching. Please find a preacher that helps you UNDERSTAND the Bible…
Baptism (being immersed) into Christ is not baptism into water. It means that you are giving your WHOLE LIFE into Jesus’ service! You are SURRENDERING yourself to God.
(Note: that’s what the “baptism of repentance” means)
What is the PURPOSE of WATER baptism? It is a PUBLIC STATEMENT that you have given your life to Jesus Christ and FROM NOW ON, you will SERVE GOD!!
There are those that have believed and been baptized in water, but they didn’t repent. These poor folk continue to live lives without the Holy Spirit and His power to free them from sin. They feel guilty and think that they are bad Christians because they continue to live in sin. It is possible that they are not yet Christians…
Receiving the Holy Spirit is not a theological decision. Nor can you “deduce” that you have received Him because you have prayed a prayer or believed something or been baptized in water. The scripture tells us what to look for:
Acts 1:8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
2 Corinthians 5:17-18 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
18 And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;
The ministry of Jesus Christ is a ministry of reconciliation. That means trying always to convince people to surrender to God and serve Him in Christ. When we have been filled with the Holy Spirit, He confirms that what we are telling others about Jesus is true.
The Holy Spirit moves with signs and wonders to convince each person who hears the Gospel of Jesus that it is TRUE.
Mark 16:20 And they went forth, and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen.
I can say this about those people that complained to me about the churches and the Bible:
-Each one of them realized that they had NOT given their lives to
God for His service.
-Each one admitted that they had not as yet received the Holy
Spirit (regardless of whether they had “spoken in tongues”).
-Each one of them listened to the explanation very seriously.
Now, it’s up to our precious Helper (actually, He does the real work). We must trust the Holy Spirit to do for each of these thirsting souls whatever it takes to convince them that
Jesus IS our Messiah!!
