Sunday Snippets

This week I actually went to church on Saturday night instead of Sunday.  I don't know if the sermon was that good or if I'm just more awake at 6pm than I am at 9am, but I ended up taking two pages of notes!

We finished up our "Gospel" series this week.  The theme of this week's sermon was "Assurance of Salvation".

Here are some of my notes:

- There are things you just won't do until you rest your full faith (weight) on God.  (He gave this great example of rock climbing vs. repelling.  When you are rock climbing you have the rope there to catch you in case you fall, but when you are repelling you have to rest your full weight and trust on that rope.)

-"I will not leave you as orphans, I will come to you."  John 14:18

- We are always trying to justify why we aren't that bad.  

- If you could get to heaven just by being a good person, why did Jesus have to come and die?

- You aren't supposed to rest on a prayer you prayed, your baptism, first communion, etc. You are suppose to rest on/ be assured by what Jesus did on the cross 2000 years ago.

- He used an example of us sitting in the chairs.  Maybe we didn't remember the exact moment we decided that chair was sturdy enough to hold us, but the fact that we are sitting in it now is proof that you trust it.  (It isn't one decision point, it is a constant thing you continually do.)

1.  There is a testimony to be believed.  It is just believing what God said about His son.
(1 John 5:11; 1 John 1:8-10)

2.  There is a manifestation of that testimony in our lives.

If Jesus is in you these things will natually start to happen...

- You start to do the same things Jesus did.  Your life starts to resemble His.

- God's prescription for everything is faith in the Gospel.

- Don't rest in YOUR fruitfulness, rest in what HE did for you.

It was great because he talked about how a lot of people struggle with this.  We question am I really saved?  How can I be sure?  Did I pray that prayer right?  He admitted he had been baptized 4 times and had prayed the "sinner's prayer" thousands of times between the ages of like 13-19.

I can totally relate.  I can't pinpoint exactly when it changed for me...when I became sure and put my full faith in Jesus, but I am more sure of my salvation than I am anything in my life.  I believe Jesus died on the cross and paid the price for my sins and I thank GOD for it everyday!