RECEIVE

By Rick Mathes

1 Timothy 1:15 is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all.

What are the main highlights of God becoming man in the form of Jesus? When I first became a Christian, I didn’t trust the Apostles so I just read the red parts, the words quoted of Jesus Christ. It takes about three hours to read them all at a normal reading speed. Just think, three hours of preaching and 2,000 years later we are still blown away by His Gospel!

When our spirit received His Spirit we have Jesus as our Savior and Lord. I mean that He is in your head and your heart. He has invaded your intelligence and your obedience. You are under new management.

The initial proof of this conversion is your burning desire to confess Christ to others. The Word becomes a fire in your veins and you cannot shut up! I wanted to stop cars on the highway and pass out bible tracts. Now is the time to get a hold of a Paul to learn and a Timothy to pass it on to.

Christianity is infectious. The contagion draws us together like metal to a magnet. We need to be together and we know that iron sharpens iron. Joining a Bible believing church the Apostles would attend is a must. Notice what I said, “that the Apostles would attend.” The Primitive Church wasn’t into bells, whistles and show-time. They came together in one accord on the first day of the week, sang, made oaths, prayed, heard a sermon, went home and returned for a banquet and baptisms.

The maintenance program is simply to read and study the Word. The Holy Spirit stands ready to teach you and make the Words come alive to your understanding and application. This necessitates a prayer time when you can commune with the Lord. I have often mused that Jesus created us because He wanted our fellowship. In part this is true because our Daddy wants to hear from us in prayer. We please Him with our conversation as my little daughter Karlita blessed me with her baby words.

Now it’s time to walk your talk. We need to put the Word into practice. Go from Jesus IS Lord to Jesus AS Lord. You will be growing from justification to sanctification. This means you went from intellectual ascent to Lordship salvation. Receive the blessing.