CCF Writers
Mission Globe April 2013
A Church of God Outreach Newsletter
Volume 1, Issue 1
The Problem Is Sin So often I hear people say, “You can’t help but sin.” So many people in the religious world believe that Christ came to save them from the penalty of sin, but they are yet left in a sinful world and in a fallen state where, like it or not, everyone eventually, if not sooner, will commit sin. Yet, there must be some misunderstanding in what is being portrayed here. People are coming in battered, bruised, and brokenhearted and you're welcoming them on in, but the issue is when they come in and say: “The problem I’m in that’s killing me, called sin, is not because I feel a little guilty. Sin is eating away at me. Sin is ruining my life. Sin is breaking up my marriage. Sin is ruining my home. Sin is costing me my paycheck…”
Jesus has the solution: “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30). Jesus didn’t come to leave you tied up in the sin you’re in. He came to make you free from sin. “And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call His name Jesus: for He shall save His people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21). “…Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin… If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed” (John 8:34, 36).
What will you do when they say, “The problem I’m in is sin. Does somebody have a remedy Jesus wants to make you free from sin. You for me?” must be made free from sin. Sin kills. Remember again in the passage in Matthew above What will “just do the best you can” do in the how Jesus compared sin to hard labor. This face of “I’m weary with sin, hurt, and broken labor is breaking down your body, self esteem, within. Can anyone cure me? Can anyone and your heart, mind, and soul. It’s taking your save me?” joy, your hope, your love, and your peace…
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My Prayer By Sierra Johnson (for Chosen) When I was burdened lost and in sin My God He came and cleansed me from within He changed my heart and made it new, pure, and clean… Since now I live a holy life I pray to God both day and night Thanking Him and hoping to share what He did for me Chorus: I want to reach someone today To show them there’s a better way Lord, please guide me every day to one who’s in need… With God there is hope, joy, and peace There’s grace to go through anything I pray that they choose God and see how great He is…
Chosen: Church of God singing group located in Columbus, GA www.chosen4.webs.com
I pray that everyone will know of God’s power and His love I pray they taste and see that He’s good and wonderful There’s no one like Him anywhere, He is a God who truly cares He’ll change your life completely like He did for me…
Bro. Adrien’s Testimony We measure a thing’s legitimacy by its effects, or its impact. Salvation doesn’t just change your professed state-of-soul… it changes your life and mind. We refer to 2 Corinthians 5:17 to demonstrate this point. “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” The word creature in this passage is from the Greek word “creation.” You are a new creation! If you were a lion, now you are a lamb. If you were a drunk, now you are sober. If you liked to fight, now you desire peace. If you were in an unbiblical relationship, now you are willing to cut it off, and you want to do things the right way. You show me your old circumstance and course of action, and I’ll show you where God changed that when salvation entered the picture. A lion has a whole different set of instincts than a snake. It is a different creature. It is a different creation. If it didn’t change you, you don’t have it. This I declare by biblical foundation (2 Cor. 5:17 and by personal experience). I was the vilest sinner you could imagine. I had hatred in my heart for people. I had a rapacious appetite for sin, its pleasures, and its filth. I had dark, satanic thoughts in my heart. I gave myself to ALL types of ungodly music, and ceded to its influence. I indulged in base sensual activities. I pandered narcotics to young and old, and did so with ut-
“I was the vilest sinner you could imagine.”
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The Problem Is Sin (cont.) Remember these words: “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly” (John 10:10). The devil, the enemy of your soul, is depicted as a thief, which he is, but actually it is sin. It is our giving in to him that does the stealing, the killing, and the destroying. He can do nothing to us as long as we obey God and keep our focus on Him. “We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not; but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not” (1 John 5:18). The only cure for the problem of sin is to be born of God. The only way to be born of God is through His son Jesus. “He came unto His own, and His own received Him not. But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name” (John 1:11-12).
What is the method of believing? Read Romans 10:13-15, 17: “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent? …So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” Now, you may hear the word of God preached under the inspiration, be inspired by a guy you meet in the market place or who comes to your door, or God may deal with you personally. Once God begins to draw you to Himself, don’t resist it. You cannot come to God except His Spirit draws you. When you see your condition before God and you see yourself as God sees you, then you have godly sorrow which worketh repentance. Neither emotionalism, nor personal pity, nor a hard life, nor a bad set of circumstances, will repair your relationship with God again. Only godly sorrow, sorry towards God, worketh true Bible repentance. It only produces genuine salvation and deliverance from the power and penalty of sin. You cannot get it any other way anywhere else.
“He can do nothing to us as long as we obey God and keep our focus on Him.”
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Bro. Adrien’s Testimony terly predatory motives. I manipulated the opposite gender, rebelled against authority, and was on the fast track to destruction. I loved the things of the world, including organized sports. I despised knowledge and school, nearly flunking out of high school. Of all this I have great shame… there is no glory in it… and to think, that is just a glimpse of the picture. I only publicly recount such horrors to now illustrate the great power of Jesus Christ! Now, I have subaqueous love in my heart for God, as well as every soul in this universe! I have a voracious thirst for God, and His holiness. The music to which I listen is Godly, and it influences me to be more like Christ. After being one of its staunchest advocates, I now have a vendetta against hip-hop culture. I no longer offer drugs, but salvation to all who will receive it. I honor and respect women, and try to help young ladies avoid the pitfalls to where I once dragged them. I now appreciate authority. I hate the things of this world along with every false way. God helped me to complete a college degree, but greater than my desire for knowledge is my quest for God’s wisdom. Of all this I have great thanks to God! There’s unequaled power in it! And to think… that is just a glimpse of the picture! I could write a volume for a personal testimony, add it to the entire expanse of true Christian literature, throw in the testimonies and sermons of all Christians of all ages, put it all with any similar thing of which you can think, and stack all that up with the bible… and the half has never yet been told.
*Bro. Adrien’s testimony is reprinted from the article “Salvation Understanding It’s Impact” as originally appearing in Called Soldiers’ Newsletter. This segment used by permission.
CCF Writers
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“I no longer offer drugs, but salvation to all who will receive it.”
MISSION GLOBE
Our Mission is to spread the truth of Christ’s Love to a lost and dying world. Our Goal is to encourage all to seek the Lord while He may be found and to call on Him while He is near. We want to let you know there is hope, there is help, there is an answer and His name is Jesus Christ. Visit us online www.missionglobe.com
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