COME TO CHRIST 'AS YOU ARE' ........The Holy Ghost will Transform you!

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• This is the Work of grace...
• As they receive Christ, the Holy Ghost will begin to do the cleansing work in their lives, until a new man emerges.
• Jesus died for the sinners, not the righteous.

Introduction

The subject of the grace of God and how it affects an ignorant person, who lives his or her own life without considering the word of God is very important in our effort to win the loss to Christ.

The grace of God has appeared unto all men refers to the coming of Christ in search of the sinner, and not the righteous. Jesus came for the salvation of all mankind - Young men, old men, older women, younger women, and slaves - No one is beyond the reach of God’s grace.

It was grace that made Christ pass through Samaria, a group of people the Jews of old had nothing in common.  They regarded them as unworthy, but Jesus told His disciples that he needed to pass through Samaria.  Why go through Samaria, because He wanted to reach out to the Samaritans.

In the way of salvation, we come alone to Jesus Christ. The way to salvation is not coming to a human priest, nor even attending the assemblies of God's saints; it is coming to Jesus Christ, the great exalted Saviour, once slain, but now enthroned in glory. You must get to him, or else you have virtually nothing upon which your soul can rely.

Coming to Christ does not mean coming with any natural motion of the body, for he is in heaven, and we cannot climb up to the place where he is; but it is a mental coming, a spiritual coming; it is, in one word, a trusting in and upon him. 

He who believes Jesus Christ to be God, and to be the appointed atonement for sin, and relies upon him as such, has come to him, and it is this coming which saves the soul. Whoever the wide world over has relied upon Jesus Christ, and is still relying upon him for the pardon of his iniquities, and for his complete salvation, is saved.

Jesus came for the Sinners
Jesus did not go to the King of Samaria but waited on a woman at the well of waters.  Grace is greater than what people will say, in the sense that the truth of what Christ obtained for us on the Cross will be rehearsed again and again. 

Jesus said He came for the sinners and not the righteous, so all sinners are welcome into the boat of eternity. Come as you are to Christ is an affirmative statement in that respect.  Jesus came for the lost, sinners and all mankind that was not righteous.  

A prostitute should know that her sins were forgiven at the cross, and she needed to receive Jesus as Lord and saviour to enjoy the benefits of her sin being forgiven.

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It is not the will of God that anyone should die in sin, but that all should come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.  You may be dressing to attract the attention of the opposite sex, it is because Jesus is not yet the Lord of your life.

The strange boss in your office may have used his position to subdue you into sleeping with him, don't worry.  It is because you were without Christ, so his threat frightened you (Fear is the bondage of everyone without Christ).

When Jesus takes over your life as Lord and Saviour, provider of all good things, your mindset, dressing and countenance will change for the better.  He is ready to provide the missing things your life needed badly.  

God, a caring Father
A preacher was encouraging his congregation to praise and worship God who has given them all good things...And a lady in the crowd said in her heart, "Except that He did not give me husband"  God heard her and told the preacher to tell the lady that He has provided her with the husband, and that fruit of the womb will start immediately they get married. God is a caring Father!

I don't want guilt and shame to rob any living soul of salvation.  You may have done terrible things, but God is merciful that has forgiven you already at the cross, you need to come to Christ to receive life and power to live above sin...The Holy Ghost is an expert in doing wonders in the life of people.

Let that sense of shame be a reminder of how you fell short of God’s standards. But it should never prevent you from receiving the grace and mercy of God that you so desperately need to move on in life.  You may think you are too messed up to repent and genuinely change, but I can assure you that it will not by your power, but by the Spirit of the Lord.

It is very common for older men and women to 'write off' salvation on the account of their past evil deeds or the disappointment they have with people in the Church. The many people in the church behave like unbelievers and conclude there is no way they can repent now.  Some say it is already too late.  But God looks at it differently and for any living soul, salvation cannot be too late, if such a person can humble himself to accept Jesus Christ, it's done!

Jesus made a habit of spending time with people on the fringes of society, people whose lives were seriously messed up. When the religious leaders of his day criticized him for this, Jesus replied, “Those who well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners”- Mark 2:17. 

SERMON OF GRACE:

God loves us too much to allow us to remain in our sin once we come to him. Some years back, a traditional ruler, who is also the head of a notorious secret society group (A cult group) heard a message of grace preached to him and his men at a church they attended in their uniform.  The preacher was moved to change his sermon that day, and rather preached the message of Elijah and the prophets of Baal.  

To show that all power belongs to Christ alone, he challenged all of the occultic men to use their powers to deflate any of the tyres on his car, if their god is powerful, otherwise, they should all turn to the living God and serve Him.  That was a message of grace!

At the end of the sermon, he made an alter call and to the surprise of all in the church, the leader of the group and a Traditional ruler was the first to come to the pulpit, then, of course, all his men had to follow him and they all received Christ.

After the service, the Preacher and another traditional ruler decided to visit the now repented occult grand master to know if he knew the meaning and implication of giving his heart to Jesus, which he did.  They asked him whether he understood what he did...And he said YES. He said if a young preacher could challenge us like that, and we could not deflate any of the tyres in his car, then you must realize there is a stronger power (JESUS CHRIST) behind him.  That power standing behind him is the power I surrendered to...I AM INDEED BORN AGAIN.

Beloved, that old man died one month after surrendering his heart to Jesus.  That is what grace can do.  He spent all his years serving the devil and doing evil, but the light of the gospel shines on his path and he took advantage of it and today he is in heaven.

No matter what you’ve done, or how badly you’ve messed up your life, Jesus says to you, “Come to me, all who labour and are heavily laden, and I will give you rest” - Matt 11:28. The great 18th-century preacher Jonathan Edwards captured it well when he said:

"If you are a poor, distressed sinner, whose heart is ready to sink for fear that God never will have mercy on you, you need not be afraid to go to Christ, for fear that he is either unable or unwilling to help you…. You need not hesitate one moment, but may run to him, and cast yourself upon him. You will certainly be graciously and meekly received by him. 

Though he is a lion, he will only be a lion to your enemies, but he will be a lamb to you…. Whatever your circumstances are, you need not be afraid to come to such a Savior as this. Be you never so wicked a creature, here is worthiness enough; be you never so poor, and mean, and ignorant a creature, there is no danger of being despised, for though he is so much greater than you, he is also immensely more humble than you".

Grace's message says that Jesus died for their salvation and that all men should come to Him the way they are... and the Holy Spirit of God will work on them and remould them.

But the question is, will you take advantage of the good news of God’s grace coming to you now to repent and surrender your heart to Christ? or will you ignore this message and continue in sin and hopelessness?

Will you take the grace of God for granted in this world that is closing up day by day? Remember that salvation is personal and now is the acceptable time, tomorrow may be too late. 

If apostle Paul who persecuted the church and called himself the chief of sinners (1 Tim. 1:13, 15) experienced God’s grace through the cross, you too can! Let's see what the bible says about salvation and why you should accept Jesus as Lord and Savior without further delay.

What the bible says about Salvation

1. Ephesians 2:8-9 - For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

2. Titus 3:5 - He saved us, not because of works are done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit,

3. Romans 10:9 - Because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

4. Acts 4:12 - And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

5. Ephesians 2:8 - For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,

6. John 14:6 - Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

7. Matthew 7:21 - “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.

8. John 6:44 - No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day.

9. John 15:1-27 - “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he,  it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. ...

10. John 3:16-18 - “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.

11. Acts 2:38- And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

12. Romans 10:9-10 - Because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart, one believes and is justified, and with the mouth, one confesses and is saved.

13. Romans 3:23 - For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

14. Romans 6:23 - For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

15. John 3:5 - Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.

16. John 3:36 - Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.

17. John 1:12 - But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,

18. 1 John 1:9 - If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

19. 1 Peter 2:24 - He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds, you have been healed.

20. John 11:25-26 - Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he dies, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?”

Conclusion

Jesus came to rescue sinners, and deliver them from themselves and the world.  It is our duty as Christians and ministers of God, children of God to take the message to the entire world, just as Jesus did Himself.  He did not condemn anyone.

I trust many of us have come, but we should know that we are in Christ to continue to rely on Him, and so continue to come again and again to the Lord in prayer, praise worship and fellowship. It is the very spirit of the believer to be always relying upon Christ, as much after a life of holiness as when he first commenced that life Christ is our foundation and the only foundation of all we can be or have.  So, we should always encourage people to come to Christ as they are.

FIRE...