Sunday, May 11, 2008

NUTS AND BOLTS OF A CHRISTIAN LIFE

By: Pastor David M. James

The Bolt/fastener was designed to do something.. It may be to just hold a washer with a nut attached or hold something very expensive together but it was designed with purpose.

This bold represents each one of us. God designed each one of us also to do something in this life. The bolt is naked and useless without being attached to something and we are also.

We may all rally together and say how much we accomplished as a bolt, but when it really comes down to it, we alone, did not accomplish anything.

See there is a sin issue to be dealt with.

When Adam & Eve were in the GARDEN OF EDEN they had all the washers and a nut attached, but one by one, they were stripped away to where we are today. Naked and without God.

First lets take care of the SIN issue.

If we never lied or stole or gambled, we would still have a SIN NATURE to be dealt with. When we are born, we have SIN in each one of our CELLS in our body. We received this from ADAM AND EVE. Rom. 5:12.

Romans 3:23: Says, “All have sinned and come short of the Glory of God”

Exodus 34:7 Tells us how the sin is followed through the generations from the sins of your parents. “(alcoholism, promiscuous lifestyle, homosexually, bad temper etc)

II Cor. 4:4 Tells us Satan BLINDS the minds of the lost.

Sin is like BODY ODOR, we can’t seem to detect it on ourselves, BUT we sure can detect it on others!

1. I John 1:9, “If we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness”
John 3:16, “For GOD so loved the world, he gave his only begotten SON that whosoever believes in him should not( should) perish but have everlasting life.
Those of us who have accepted JESUS CHRIST AS SAVIOR, lets signify salvation trait in our lives by putting the WHITE washer on the bolt.
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The second TRAIT we need to learn is TRUST (faith) Build our Faith
We need to strive to TRUST JESUS with our LIVES

Matt 6:30, Read (God clothes the fields and he will take care of you)
I Peter 5:7, Tells us “To cast ALL your cares upon HIM”

Psalms 50:15, “Call upon ME in the day of TROUBLE”

Psalms 34:7, “The ANGEL of the Lord encampeth around those who LOVE HIM”

Rom. 10:17, “Faith cometh by HEARING, HEARING by READING the Word”

Let’s show TRUST by putting on the RED washer.
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The Third TRAIT we need to have is LOVE.

We have to have 2 KINDS of Love.
1. LOVE FOR GOD
2. LOVE FOR MAN

The Love or hunger for God should grow each day as we learn to trust Him more and more with our lives. As we read His word he speaks to us and we will grow to APPRECIATE WHAT HE HAS DONE FOR US.

I Pet 2:7-10 (chosen people, royal priesthood, holy nation, belonging to God (the Jews were chosen, but they rejected Jesus, now were chosen) Rom. 11, we are grafted in. John 15.

The LOVE for each other is special. Not like the WORLDS Love, that has strings attached. Our love needs to be AGAPE Love. The kind where you think of others more than yourselves. The kind of LOVE Jesus talks about where you would give your LIVE for another, AS HE DID!

John 13:34-35 love one another, my disciples if you love one another.

Lets put the BLUE washer on signifying the LOVE need to have IN US!

The 4th TRAIT we need to have is PRAYER

I Thessalonians 5:17 tells us to “Pray without ceasing”
I have told you how I KEEP SHORT ACCOUNTS WITH GOD. (all day, all night)

James 5:16, confess hidden sin causes sickness, prayers are effective and powerful.

Jesus rose early before it was light outside to PRAY to His Father. We need to follow this same example. Do not try to give him what is left at the end of the day and expect to live a VICTORIOUS LIFE. Never met a powerful preacher yet whom waited till the end of the day to pray to God, and spend an hour alone with Him.

Gods word tells us to MAKE a Prayer closet where we can go to get away from the JUNK that will ROB you of the BLESSING OF PRAYER.

Lets put the Prayer TRAIT in our life by the ORANGE washer.


The next TRAIT we need in our lives is FORGIVENESS

Luke 7:47 (washed his feet with her tears, dried His feet with her hair, alabaster box broken on Jesus feet)401k, all she had to live on in her advanced years on earth.
(“loved much”, her love for JC, was the evidence that she had been forgiven, not the reason for her forgiveness) good, lovely people will fill up hell without Jesus.,
That is, A man's love to God will be in proportion to the obligations he feels himself under to the bounty of his Maker.

The Lords prayer tells us to forgive others as they forgive us. We should PORTRAY this lifestyle. FORGIVENESS always in every circumstance.

Gods Word says:

It does not matter what horrible event/events occurred in your past.
It does not matter who has beaten you up in the past.
Jesus forgave us when he was innocently DYING on the CROSS for our sins and unforgiveness of others.

When we truly forgive others and CRY out to GOD for Strength to forgive others,
The Holy Spirit will change our hearts/souls.
It is not easy
But it can be done
That is when the HEALING starts.

Let me ask you something:

Let’s say your Father or Mother sexually abused you for YEARS.
Now they live in another town or another STATE.
Or they have died.
You haven’t forgiven them for the HORRIBLE THINGS they did to you.
Your nights are filled with terrible dreams. Possibly involving snakes.
Your relationships with others are GUARDED at best.
You may not even be able to keep a steady job.

Now tell me, Who is in the PRISON of the past?
YOU?
THEY?

Unforgiveness will cause:
Ulcers,
Cancer, Arthritis, strange unexplained attacks of disease on your body,
DEATH

It does this by tearing down the IMMUNE SYSTEM in your body which normally fights off the diseases that SATAN puts upon you, because you give him the legal grounds to attack you.
Unforgiveness is sin!

“I have decided to stick with Love. Hate is too great a burden to bear” MLK Jr.

Let’s put the TRAIT of FORGIVENESS on with the YELLOW washer.

The LAST part is the NUT.
This nut represents the HOLY SPIRIT.
Man is ruined by sin,
Man is redeemed by Christ
Man is regenerated by the Holy Spirit

Eph 1:13-14 (seals us)

HS job is to:
Challenge us,
Convict us,
Change us,

Let’s put the Trait of the Holy Spirit indwelling each of us, with the NUT.

Carry this complete Christian package in your purse, wallet to remind you of the traits we all should proclaim to the lost world around us as believers..