Blessed AssuranceMore about Jesus Seminar #4 - GuideTo see the 26 Video seminars links list visit http://nfltrashtalk.com/peaceful-resources/

The survey intro 5 Qs on the Christian Life.Here's three of them.What is a Christian? 95% gave a behavioral answer.(A christian will try to do good things and try not to do bad things)

If you die today do you think you will be resurrected with the 'saved group'? 95% said no. (WHY? Because they aren't doing a very good job at Question #1.)

Do you spend any quality time every day getting to know Jesus better. 95% said no.

Here's an aha moment!since I am not 'perfect'If behavior is my focus,then I am never going to be certain of my salvation.

However, when we read Bible writers, such as Paul and others, [TEXTS: 1 John 5:12-13, John 5:24, Jude 1:24, Romans 8:16, Hebrews 7:25, John 10:29, Ephesians 4:30, John 6:47, Romans 8:38-39]we are told that we can be, and should be certain about where we stand with God TODAY, Right this minute!

Many Christians have had a problem with the Assurance thing because of the false philosophy ofonce saved, always saved, and so 'thinking that you're saved' has been a bad thingin their minds & something NOT to do.That clearly describes my former frame of mind.

The difference is that I can choose NOT to be saved at anytime in the future, Mathew 24 tells us that because inequity shall abound the love of many shall wax cold, but he that shall endure until the end shall be saved.

So, can I be certain today? I'D BETTER BE!

Mt 7:21 (NKJV) 21 "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.22 "Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?' 23 "And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!'

Here's the KEY ISSUE... 'I never knew you;...no time spent growing into a relationship with God!

What does Jesus mean when He says but he who does the will of My Father?If we ask three questions of the Bible, we can have assurance of Salvation from solid Bible evidence.

1. Have I been saved?2. Am I being saved?3. Am I staying saved?(Will I be saved when Jesus comes?)

1. Have I been saved? The question to ask is... Have I ever come to Christ & accepted Him as my Savior, Lord and Friend? If your answer is yes, then you have been saved.

So... How is it that you COME to Christ?Through Prayer & Bible study.So IF I come to Christ through Bible study and prayer,after coming to the end of my own resources,Then, I can be certain that I have been saved.[The tough part is giving up trying to do it ourselves!]

Can Anyone Come?

Joh 6:37 (MKJV)Allthat the Father gives Me shall come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will in no way cast out.

EVERYONE WILL ALWAYS BE ACCEPTED...

when they come to Christ, every time!There is no expiration date on this guarantee, & not a one time offer,but a constant ongoing out reach ~ by God ~ to us ~ just wanting to be friends!It makes no difference WHAT you've DONE, you will be accepted!Once you have accepted Jesus as your Savior, then you are accepted, and you are justified because of

your faith, your trust, & your beliefthat He is your Savior,the Son of GodIt's just that simple.

Romans 5:1 [NKJV] (BBE)Therefore, having been justified by faith,For which reason, because we have righteousness through faith,we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,let us be at peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ;

Justification. So... what does it mean to be Justified? Justification means more than just forgiveness. It simply means that because of your faith to believe that Jesus Christ Is the promised Savior, the Son of God, when you repent of your sins God is then justified in forgiving your sins, but there's more.

Now when he looks at you, he sees the perfect life of His Son, in place of the imperfect life you have lived. We now stand before God as if we'd never sinned! That's what the perfect life of Jesus does for us. If we 'fall', or 'fail' or 'sin' after that, GOD sees that failure as the very first failure from perfection ever in my life.

How could I have missed this principle truth for so long?Because I was always so caught up in the'do-don't-do' mentality of the Phariseesthat I couldn't come to Jesusand experience PEACE with GOD!

What an amazing difference. Trying to reach perfection through grit and determination, only to fail so miserably that you give up in disrepair!VS.Instantly Reaching Perfection THROUGH The Perfect Life Of Christ!

That Peace With GodIs such a gift of Lovethat I NOW WANT to do His will,out of Love & AppreciationInstead of Fear from knowing that The Results Of Disobedienceis DEATH!

I'm the poster child for what this disastrous cycle of failure does to a person. Now I don't want to disobey God, because I appreciate the mercy He has bestowed upon me, even while we were yet sinners.

2. Am I being saved?Am I Staying With Jesus?Am I Abiding With Jesus?Am I In An Ongoing, Personal ~ Relationship With Jesus?That's the Key Point Right There!That relationship with Jesus is everything!IS JESUS ENOUGH?!?ABSOLUTELYAm I In An Ongoing, Personal ~ Relationship With Jesus?That is the key element! The same answer to that question answers, am I being & staying saved.

1st Jo 5:11&12 (NKJV)

11 And this is the testimony( And his witness is this, [BBE]) that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. (NKJV)

12 He who has the Son has [the] life;he who does not havethe Son of Goddoes not have [the] life. (NKJV)[BBE adds the]

So, what does it mean to have The Son?Same as when you say, 'I have a wife', or, 'I have a husband'. It means you have a relationship with them. So...If I have a relationship with Jesus I have eternal life!What life is he talking about? The life that matters. Eternal life! So when Jesus comes back then I will get eternal life? NO! I have it NOW! Now, death is nothing more then taking a nap! We will wake from our sleep to see Jesus coming on the clouds in glory.

That's good news! We have THAT ASSURANCE NOW!

The Apostle Paul is clear on Salvation through Faith and Faith alone! Paul started out BOASTING for a bit, listing all the supposed 'good stuff' he had accomplished in his life, and then said this...

Philippians 3:8-12

(KJV) 8 Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord:

I like how the Amplified Bible gives synonyms, or paraphrases in verse 8(AB) 8 Yes, furthermore, I count everything as loss compared to the possession of the priceless privilege (the overwhelming preciousness, the surpassing worth, and supreme advantage) of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord and of progressively becoming more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him [of perceiving and recognizing and understanding Him more fully and clearly].

Let's compare using color coded sections for easy comparison.(KJV) 8 ...For whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ,

(AB) 8 ...For His sake I have lost everything and consider it all to be mere rubbish (refuse, dregs), in order that I may win (gain) Christ (the Anointed One),

(KJV) 9 And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:

(AB) 9 And that I may [actually] be found and known as in Him, not having any [self-achieved] righteousness that can be called my own, based on my obedience to the Laws demands (ritualistic uprightness and supposed right standing with God thus acquired), but possessing that [genuine righteousness] which comes through faith in Christ (the Anointed One), the [truly] right standing with God, which comes from God by [saving] faith.

(KJV) 10 That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;

(AB) 10 [For my determined purpose is] that I may know Him [that I may progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him, perceiving and recognizing and understanding the wonders of His Person more strongly and more clearly each day], and that I may in that same way come to [understand and experience] the [saving] power out-flowing from His resurrection [or Experience The Resurrection of the Saints on that day?], and that I may so share His sufferings as to be continually transformed [in spirit into His likeness even] to His death, [in the hope]

11 (KJV) If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead.11 (AB) That if possible I may attain to the [[b]spiritual and moral] resurrection [that lifts me] out from among the dead [even while in the body].

In John 11:26 Jesus says, And whosoever lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?

Phillipians 3 cont.

12 (KJV) Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.

12 (AB) Not that I have now attained [this ideal], or have already been made perfect, but I press on to lay hold of (grasp) and make my own, that for which Christ Jesus (the Messiah) has laid hold of me and made me His own.

SAY WHAT? WHAT'S WITH ALL THE DOUBLE TALK in verse 12 PAUL?A mix of [NKJV & BBE] may shed some light!

Php 3:8 - 12 I am ready to give up all things for the excellence of the knowledgeof Christ Jesus my Lord,for whom I have undergone the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, so that I may have Christ as my reward,and be found in Him, not having my righteousness which is of the law,but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; that I may know Himand [know] the power of His resurrection, and [know] the fellowship of His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death;If in any way I may have the reward of life from the dead.Orthe reward of life instead of the penalty of death.

Php 3:12 (NKJV) Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; Not as if I had even now got the reward or been made complete:(NKJV) but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. but I go on in the hope that I may come to the knowledge of that for which I was made the servant of Christ Jesus.

SAY WHAT PAUL?[In AD 21st Century USA English]I believe he's saying this.

Once I discovered the incredible Plan made for the salvation of Our Planet, everything else I ever thought had value, became less than nothing by comparison. It all happened because of the friendshipthat the only true GOD &Creator of all thingswas offeringto ME!WoWHe planned it,He made it available,He want's us all to have it,and it includes perfectionof body, soul and spirit,& all that work HE promises to do for you,coupled with Life With HIM throughout eternity.Only a fool would choose to ignore GOD'S Free GiftBought at the Highest Price ~ with His Only Sons Life!& ~ NO ~ I'm not there yet.It's quite obvious I'm still here,But I carry on, and I hang on tightI'm now a slave to the only thing I value,to my constant friendship withThe SON of GOD!~ SELAH! ~

3. Am I staying saved?" (Will I be saved when Jesus comes?)

If we can answer yes to the first two,then the answer is yes to the last question.It is just a matter of STAYING IN that saving, daily, growing, meaningful, loving relationshipwith Jesus,and then TRUSTING HIM TO DO ALL the rest!

Has He promised to do it?

2 Timothy 1:12 (The New KJV, Living & Amplified Versions to compare.)

(NKJV) 12 For this reason I also suffer these things; nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day.

The Living Bible (TLB) 12 That is why I am suffering here in jail, and I am certainly not ashamed of it, for I know the one in whom I trust, and I am sure that he is able to safely guard all that I have given him until the day of his return.

Amplified Bible (AMP) 12 And this is why I am suffering as I do. Still I am not ashamed, for I know (perceive, have knowledge of, and am acquainted with) Him Whom I have believed (adhered to and trusted in and relied on), and I am [positively] persuaded that He is able to guard and keep that which has been entrusted to me and which [a]I have committed [to Him] until that day.

That's all pretty clear but how about this to go with it...

Philippians 1:6 (I added the 'Voice' translation to go with the other three.)

(NKJV) being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;

(TLB) And I am sure that God who began the good work within you will keep right on helping you grow in his grace until his task within you is finally finished on that day when Jesus Christ returns.

(VOICE) I am confident that the Creator, who has begun such a great work among you, will not stop in mid-design but will keep perfecting you until the day Jesus the Anointed, our Liberating King, returns to redeem the world.

(AMP) And I am convinced and sure of this very thing, that He Who began a good work in you will continue until the day of Jesus Christ [right up to the time of His return], developing [that good work] and perfecting and bringing it to full completion in you.

Can there be any doubt WHO is doing the work?

Being confident, I am sure, I am confident,I am convinced and sure of this very thingThat sounds like a promise.We can have the Blessed Assurancethat God has promised us!That is also a promise concerning our behavioral problems, but we don't focus on the behavioral problems,

We focus on HIM!

Here's a favorite text.

1 John 2:28 (NKJV) To The Children of GodAnd now, little children,

abide in Him, that when He appears, we may have confidence and not be ashamed before Him at His coming.

(AMP) And now, little children, abide (live, remain permanently) in Him,so that when He is made visible, we may have and enjoy perfect confidence (boldness, assurance) and not be ashamed, and shrink from Him at His coming.

What if it was the other way around? What if God came up to you and said, I want you to make a deal with me, to never again do anything wrong. What would you do? Could you do it on your own? How many people would be saved with THAT as the requirement?

~ But we are NOT forsaken by GOD! ~Instead, God asks us, Can we make a deal to get together and get to know each other? Can anyone do that? Absolutely!

God has made Salvation possible for even the weakest of the weak!There's an enormous difference between trying to keep the rules, and in getting to know Jesus as my personal friend!

Now Mission Impossiblejust becameMission Possible!

If we do that, we have the promise of eternal life! WoW! How Wonderful is THAT!?!

We should all rejoice and be glad,Because GOD has truly made provisions that allows ALL an equal opportunity to be saved!Finally the answer to the question,

What does Jesus mean when He says'but he who does the will of My Father'?

Does God want to have an ongoing, continuing, daily, personal relationship with you? Absolutely!Am I in that relationship with him? If my answer is yes, then I AM doing the will of God.

Blessed Assurance,Jesus is Mine!

To see the 26 Video seminars links list visit http://nfltrashtalk.com/peaceful-resources/