by Jamie Pantastico | Aug 31, 2020 | Daily Encouragement |
One of the hardest things to do as a believer is to have faith that God is working in our lives, and to not be afraid when trials and tribulations come our way. Finding the courage to get through tough situations is hard enough already but when we feel that God isn’t there, fear becomes overwhelming!
Enter COVID-19 and uncertainty, worry and fear have increased a hundredfold. These are no doubt perplexing times, unprecedented for the body of Christ in America for sure but we are commanded by the Lord not to worry but instead to have no fear.
What Saith the Scripture
God’s word is crystal clear about our position as believers and this is something every believer must grasp (understand) and hold on too by faith and that is our position. In other words, the very moment a person is saved we are indwelled with the Holy Spirit and sealed as His and we have a promise from God that we will be with the Lord forever.
This is all part of God’s free gift for all mankind and those who believed by faith alone in the gospel alone; that Jesus Christ died for our sins, was buried, and rose again three days later have it all. And so much more. But for now, let’s look a three reasons why Christians should live fearlessly.
Number One.
You are Saved.
‘Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures,’
I Corinthians 15:1-4
Number Two.
We Are Indwelled and Sealed with the Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit
‘Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.’
Romans 5:5
‘Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? ‘
I Corinthians 6:19
Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?
I Corinthians 3:16
‘that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, ‘
Ephesians 3:16
‘Likewise the Spirit (the Holy Spirit that’s indwells us) also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. ‘
Romans 8:26
‘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,’
Ephesians 1:13
Number 3.
The Promise of Resurrection (Dead or Alive) And To Be Forever with the Lord
‘For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. ‘
I Thessalonians 4:16
‘Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.
I Thessalonians 4:17
Beloved we have no reason to fear. NONE. We are blood-bought children of the One True God.
by Jamie Pantastico | Aug 23, 2020 | Daily Encouragement |
Doctrine for the Body of Christ is Found in Romans to Philemon But We Study ‘ALL’ of Scripture “Romans 15:4”
Romans 15:4a
‘For whatever things were written before (In other words, before God called Paul to be the apostle to the Gentiles) were written for our learning,…
Learning
So what’s the difference between learning and doctrine? All the difference in the world. Learning is the building blocks, the background to how we got to this unbelievable gospel of grace for mankind today, and what’s ahead. How did it happen that Christ was crucified? How did it happen that He ascended back to Glory? Why did God need a thirteenth apostle, the apostle Paul? This is all building the foundation for where we are today in this age of grace.
Doctrine
Doctrine, on the other hand, tells us how to be saved, how to live the Christian life, what to look for at the end time. That’s in Paul’s epistles. But all of Scripture is for our learning. Now the second half of verse four.
Romans 15:4b
that we (as the body of Christ, in the age of grace) through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.’
The world is in perplexity today. Even before the coronavirus, the world was in chaos and uncertainty. The dilemma that the whole world finds its self in is ‘perplexing’. Mankind doesn’t know what to do, there are no real solutions because mankind can provide no solution. The Lord Himself made it so clear that in the last days the world would be filled with ‘perplexity’.
But through the patience and comfort (encouragement) of the Scriptures (as we study ALL of Scripture Old & New Testament we learn) we might have hope (and as we learn what is for our learning and what is for our doctrine, we understand that what is going on in the world is all part of God’s design. And we have nothing to worry about. God is in control). That’s the hope.
God hasn’t left mankind (all mankind saved and unsaved) in a fog about what we are to know about Him. We have His word and it is clear for anyone that wants to know. As for believers, we are commanded to study His word because it is the body of Christ’s only resource for our existence during our earthly sojourn.
Study don’t Just Read your Bible…
Recommended reading. (2-minute read)
God Is Sovereign Believe What He Says
by Jamie Pantastico | Aug 11, 2020 | Daily Encouragement |
All Means All But Not All Will Believe
For the love of Christ compels us (drive us to move on), because we judge thus (or the conclusion is): that if One died for all (Jesus did not just die for those who believed, He died for all mankind) died for, then all died;
II Corinthians 5:14
We have all fallen short of the glory of God, we are all sinners by virtue of our having been born from Adam, and we are separated from God. There is that vast gulf between man and God, and all because of Adam’s disobedience (Romans 5:12).
A concept that many don’t like to stare in the face. That we are ALL sinners and have fallen short.
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
Romans 3:23
“Remember we are not sinners because we break God’s law we break the law because we are born sinners”
2 Corinthians chapter 5 is loaded with truth’s not revealed before and in verse 14 the apostle Paul delineates the human condition.
The love of Christ constrains this man (Paul) because Christ died for the whole human race. And so because the whole human race needed His sacrificial death, it is logic that the whole human race was dead in sin.
When people try to make their salvation about their works then they are flatly denying this truth. They deny they need saving and reject the fact that they are completely separated from God. They take Christ off the cross and instead rely on their works for salvation.
They reject the Biblical truth that they are dead spiritually. They believe that somehow whatever they do will merit favor with God and they’re going to get into Heaven. But they won’t get there. Because there is nothing we can do to change the spirit, it’s invisible, only God can touch our spirit. Only God can change our spirit and make us a new creation.
So how in the world can someone in a “works religion” hope to make it when they can’t even see and touch their own invisible personality? They can’t see or touch their soul or spirit!
It has to be a miraculous work of God who alone can work in the area of the invisible.
This is why our salvation is based on faith, not works
God expects us to believe (faith) Him when He said because of My great love for you I will send My only Son, to die in your place, for your sins, because there is nothing you can do to save yourself.
In Conclusion
So the gospel is that Jesus Christ died for our sins, was buried, and rose from the dead three days later. Those who believe the gospel alone by faith alone will be saved. Those who are not saved are not saved because Christ didn’t die for them, they are not saved because they didn’t believe the gospel.
Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures,
I Corinthians 15:1-4
by Jamie Pantastico | Aug 9, 2020 | Daily Encouragement, Rapture |
I Thessalonians 2:19
“For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming?”
This is just awesome and gives us all great joy through ALL difficulties! The apostle Paul is referring to that “great meeting in the air” with the Lord and our loved ones.
In 1 Thessalonians 2, Paul expresses his love for those at the Thessalonian Church and longed to see them again. But Paul realizes that he will most likely never see these believers face to face again, but as soon as they come into the presence of the Lord when that trumpet sounds they would see each other again.
This is part of our great hope…and Scripture truth. We are going to see and know our loved ones (believers), when we get to glory, in fact, we’re going to be reunited even before we get to glory itself, in the meeting in the clouds with the Lord (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18).
Read 1 Thessalonians chapter 2 several times, take notes, and study!
Glory to God.
by Jamie Pantastico | Aug 7, 2020 | Daily Encouragement, Gospel |
Note: “Ungodly” simply means someone without God in their lives, a person that has not been transformed by the power of the gospel. It doesn’t necessarily mean someone is living on skid row, ungodly doesn’t mean that the person is hooked on drugs and has been arrested dozens of times. Ungodly simply means someone that hasn’t been transformed into a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17) by way of faith in the finished work of the cross. Even good people, moral people are without God in their lives and that would make them ungodly. On the other hand, a godly person isn’t someone that has a halo around their head. A godly person isn’t someone that never sins and is now perfect. NO WAY! A godly person is someone that believed the gospel by faith alone and is now “Justified” by God, a new creation indwelled with the Holy Spirit and sealed, moved out of Satan’s domain, and into the kingdom of His Son, Jesus Christ.
But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Romans 5:8
First, the lost world will never know how much God loves them unless we (believers) share the gospel with them. Second, all believers MUST be capable of demonstrating to the lost world how much God loves them.
Every believer must be ready to share the gospel without hesitation. The lost person will want to know why you believe what you believe. And we MUST be capable of articulating our faith using Scripture with no hesitation with humility, compassion, and love.
But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear;
I Peter 3:15
We are ambassadors for Christ! God leaves us here to share the good news.
‘Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God. For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.’
II Corinthians 5:18-21
