“But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.” I Cor. 15:20
The first fruit to ripen on an apple tree is an apple. The rest that ripen after that are also apples. So then, if Christ is the first fruit of them that sleep, then that which follow are of the same fruit. That fruit is Christ. Let Christ ripen in you saint of God. Hallelujah!
“And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins.†I Cor. 15:17
It is true that Jesus nailed our sins to the cross. It is true that we find redemption through His blood. But the cross and the blood alone are not sufficient. There is one more thing of the utmost importance, THE RESURRECTION. The scriptures are clear, if Christ was not raised, then we are all still in our sins. In the blood of Christ we find forgiveness for our sin, but it is in the resurrection that we have victory over our sin. Hallelujah!
“Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; 2By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.” I Cor. 15:1-2
True born again believers received salvation upon repentance. Therefore, salvation is not something they are trying to obtain, salvation is something they keep.
“And Samuel grew, and the LORD was with him, and did let none of his words fall to the ground.” I Sam. 3:19
The idea of the Lord not letting any of the spiritual words we say fall to the ground, meaning that God will uphold them, seems to unrealistic for us that are not called to be prophets. However, this is not unrealistic, in fact it is very reasonable that each of us could speak in such a way. How? Just speak what God says.
“And the LORD called Samuel again the third time. And he arose and went to Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou didst call me. And Eli perceived that the LORD had called the child. 9Therefore Eli said unto Samuel, Go, lie down: and it shall be, if he call thee, that thou shalt say, Speak, LORD; for thy servant heareth. So Samuel went and lay down in his place.” I Sam. 3:8-9
Though Eli had drifted from God he still had some spiritual sense. He perceived that the Lord was calling Samuel. Even more important, Eli had wisdom. He didn’t tell Samuel to quick get busy and do something for God. He told him to “Go, lie down:” Ministers can be guilty of wanting to send saints out to do something before they ever learn to rest before the Lord. We all need to hear His voice and rest before Him, then we can be effective for Him. After all, Jesus called all those that are weary and heavy laden to come and find rest.
“I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.” Lk. 15:7
While praying this morning for some lost sinners I know of, I prayed that these sinners would get saved so all of heaven would rejoice. Then I had the thought that when I got saved it got the attention of heaven. Many people want to get the attention of some of this world, some even want the whole world to applaud them, but what a marvelous thought that when you got saved Oh saint of God, all of heaven rejoiced over you. Hallelujah!
“And ere the lamp of God went out in the temple of the LORD, where the ark of God was, and Samuel was laid down to sleep; 4That the LORD called Samuel: and he answered, Here am I.” I Sam. 3:3-4
God has done it in every generation where the lamp of God was starting to go out, He finds someone, even a few who will say, “Here am I.” Will you be one that answers, “Here am I?”
“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;” Rom. 1:18
I like how the NKJV says the last part of this verse. “men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness.” The word “hold” means to hold down. We learn from this verse that unrighteousness keeps truth from being promoted. You can certainly see that in society today. As our nation grows more unrighteous by the day, truth and absolutes are mocked by the leaders and teachers in this nation. If you are one that holds to the absolute truth of God, then our society will look at you like you like you come from a different planet. Well, we aren’t from a different planet, but we are from a different kingdom, a kingdom where truth reigns.
“For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.” Rom. 1:17
We are indeed saved by grace through FAITH. However, faith is not like a voucher that you cash in to receive your prize, faith is something we live in day after day. Faith is more than just believing God is, it is living for our God every day, “from faith to faith.”
“Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:” Eph. 4:13
I am reading a book called “Unto Full Stature.” The author, DeVern Fromke, starts chapter six with a quote from A. W. Tozer. Here is part of that quote. “For this reason it is critically important that we Christians should have right models. It is not enough to say that our model should be Christ. While that is true, it is also true that Christ is known mostly through the lives of His professed followers, and the more prominent and vocal these followers are the more powerful will be their influence upon the rank and file of Christians. If the models are imperfect the whole standard of Christian living must suffer as a result. A sacred obligation lies upon each of us to be Christlike. This generation of Christians must have models it can safely admire. That is not the primary reason for seeking to be holy, but it is a powerful one. Many beginners are taking us for their example.”
