Good morning and welcome in everybody. Today, we are going to take a look at a passage of scripture, but before we do that, I wanted to tell you a little story.
Have you ever believed that it was going to get really cold over the weekend, but your belief never resulted in making sure that you had enough wood ready for the cookstove? Have you ever believed that there was going to be torrential flooding in your area, yet your belief never resulted in you making sure to seek higher ground?
This reminds me of the Christian Life.
The entire Christian Life is about preparing for the eternal world that is coming, which.happens through a complete transformation from a sinner into a Saint. But if you believe the teachings of scripture in vain, that process is going to come up short, because genuine repentance won’t happen, and neither will conversion to the truth.
1 Corinthians 15:1-11 (KJB) Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep. After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles. And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time.
First of all, the Apostles were preaching about the death and resurrection of Christ Jesus. They were telling people about the mercy of God, which is available through the blood of our precious Lord. But in order to be saved eternally, you have to wholeheartedly believe in the gospel. Many people might say that they believe in Jesus, but that’s actually not enough to get to heaven. The word “believe” is defined in the dictionary as to accept something as true, and to know the absolute certainty of it. Therefore, to truly believe in Jesus is to believe in the things that He taught throughout the teachings of Holy Scripture. If you never decide to apply them to your daily life, then you are deceiving your own heart. You have to do the things Scriptures teach us, by putting them into action.
James 1:21-25 (KJB) Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls. But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.
The Apostle mentions the law of Liberty, which is complete freedom from sinful living, but without genuine faith at work in one’s life, repentance really doesn’t happen. When something is vain, it is completely devoid of worth or significance. It is also defined as being insignificant, profitless, and ineffective. To believe something in vain means that it doesn’t result in any actions at all. God’s Word can have a great cause and effect in our lives, but you have to believe, and then do what it says.
1 Thessalonians 2:11-13 (KJB) As ye know how we exhorted and comforted and charged every one of you, as a father doth his children, That ye would walk worthy of God, who hath called you unto his kingdom and glory. For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe.
Preparation is an act of faith and belief in the gospel. If there’s no preparation there’s no belief. A wife might believe that her husband’s coming home at 5:00 for supper, so she will start preparing supper a few hours before. A child might believe that the school bus is going to pick them up at 7:00, so he will begin preparing an hour early so that when the time comes, he is ready to go. There’s a passage of scripture that teaches about five foolish virgins, who didn’t believe enough to prepare themselves for future events.
Matthew 25:1-13 (KJB) Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them: But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him. Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out. But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves. And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut. Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not. Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.
So whether it’s a wife preparing supper, or a child getting ready for school, there’s a certain amount of preparedness for the coming Kingdom of Heaven, and what it will require, is….
……Believing Unto Repentance
Let’s think about these things for right now. We can be found on your web browser by searching, tlkjbc where you can find our diaries distributed through various platforms. We are not associated, nor affiliated with any other religious groups. You can get our entire podcast feeds directly, along with transcripts at tlkjbc.com or I suppose that you could find us somewhere up here, in the Great Northern Minnesota woods. Peace to you all, and Lord willing, we will talk with you some more tomorrow. Till then, bye bye everybody.
tlkjbc.com♥️
https://tlkjbc.com/written-sermons/
https://www.buzzsprout.com/2055335/episodes
https://www.facebook.com/share/14RHGVBBHbG/
Note: Any copies may be printed and freely distributed among those who have no internet service. There is no AI creative involvement in my writings, and must be left intact because they are very personal to me. These are not to be sold, and are made public only for the free benefit of Spiritual knowledge to those who are genuinely seeking the will of God.
Teufer Lake King James Bible Church 