1-2-2011 Evangelist Ben= What It Takes to Be a Dedicated Believer
Posted : 2 Jan, 2011 01:04 PM
1-2-2011 Evangelist Ben= What It Takes to Be a Dedicated Believer-Romans 12:1-2, I Peter 1:13, Col 3:2, Col 3:16
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Dedication is an important part of life. Sportsman, doctors, soldiers dedicate themselves to their mission. Christians should do the same. In Romans, God says we are to be dedicated to the Word of God. Not just a believer but a doer with our actions showing our belief.
1) Why Be a Dedicated Believer?
God is beseeching us, begging us to present our bodies as living sacrifices. We are to live holy, acceptable lives according to the Word.
*Salvation makes us righteous. If we got what we really deserved, we would be destroyed. We have no excuse because our righteousness is as filthy rags. So our salvation is a gift -an undeserved gift. There is nothing we can do on our own. It was Christ that paid for our offenses. We are justified by our faith thru Jesus.
*Salvation makes us sanctified. This sanctification has us walking in newness of life. The old things we don�t do anymore. We are free of sin and we wrestle with the old man and the new man. God thru Jesus, gives us the Victory!!
*Salvation gives us glorification. We are joint heirs with Jesus and we will dwell eternally with him in our new glorified body. We are Justified, Sanctified and Glorified.
2) How to Be a Daily Dedicated Believer?
We must present our bodies, surrender ourselves, yield ourselves/our bodies to God for Him to use. Once we are saved, we belong to God. Our bodies are living sacrifices and we are to live for the glory of God. We are to do no sin, think no sin, work for God, pray to God and daily WATCH for Jesus.
**God in not looking for a weekend invitation. He wants us daily as his servants and followers.
**We are to be Holy--set apart from sin and set apart for God! We are to be acceptable, well pleasing to God. When we do stuff, we need to think will it be pleasing to God: the music we listen to and the words we speak. Our entire life is to be dedicated to God. This is an act of worship to God.
**We must be not conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of our mind! We are transformed thru the word of God. Don�t let the world squeeze us into its mold of secular ways.
= = I Peter 1:13 Gird up the loins of our minds, be sober, hope to the end for the grace that God gives to us.
= = Col 3:2 Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.
= = Col 3:16 Let the word of Christ dwell in us richly in all wisdom.
We must be heavenly minded and still be of earthly good so God can use us for His kingdom. We must surrender, separate and saturate our minds in the Word of God.
1-2-2011 Evangelist Ben= What It Takes to Be a Dedicated Believer
Posted : 2 Jan, 2011 01:18 PM
Good post, just adding on...
caution there is a pit fall ahead....
....dedication to the Christian way of life 'can' be misleading in that you do all the things a Christian is expected to do and still miss the mark. It is dedication to a person (Jesus) that assures we hit the mark.