The core message of
Celebrate
Jesus! Crusades is that
Jesus
Christ is the Son of the Most High God
and He alone is the Way to Heaven. It is not
based our our "works" but His finished work
on Calvary's cruel cross. We don't get to Heaven
because of our
merits but His
mercy.
Because He died and arose again on the third day we
have life eternal (not temporal) when we embrace Him
as our
Savior, Substitute and
Source of
Strength.
The Bible notes: "While
we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."
He died so we could live. The Bible is clear
that Jesus is not "a way" to Heaven but
"The
Way, The
Truth &
The
Life and no man can come
to the Father but by
Jesus Christ."
Jesus was far more than a "good teacher" or
"religious leader" but the only Son of
Almighty God. Deity Who became flesh. Born
of a virgin, lived a sin-less life, died on our behalf
and arose from the grave. Christ
healed the sick, gave sight to the blind, restored
relationships, performed miracles, inspired
billions, walked on water, loved the un-lovely,
fellowshipped with the forsaken, a friend to
"sinners" and one touch from the Master and
His followers (disciples) were never, ever the same.
The "
American
Dream" is going from "rags to
Riches." Christ in all His Glory went from
"Riches to rags." He went from
Beulah
Land to
Bethlehem to be the
"bruised and battered Lamb that taketh away the
sins of the world." He went from a
mansion
all the way to a
manger, He was
Divinity
but became
Humanity, familiar with
Royal
Robes He put on our
ripped rags.
He removed His
diamond studded crown
in
Heaven only to pick up our
dirty, splintered cross on Earth. He taught
us how to live and because of our sins we taught Him
how to die. The moment Jesus rolled out of
His wooden crib as a
lad; His first steps
were already heading towards the cross as our Lord.
Jesus Christ
is a
Man with a
MISSION,
a
MESSAGE and He alone is the
MESSIAH!
His
mission - "I came to seek and save
those that are lost." His
Message:
"I AM The Way, The Truth & The Life - No man
can come to the Father but by Me." He alone
is the
Messiah - "Under Heaven, there is
no other name given among men (outside of Jesus)
whereby we must be saved (Acts 4:12)."
Friends, baptism alone
doesn't save you, church membership, doing good works,
being commited to church or community ties, nor does
organized
religion but it is a
relationship
with Jesus Christ that offers
freedom,
future in Heaven and
forgiveness
from all our sins. He took our place on the
cross and it is because of the cross that we come to
Christ.
Charlton Heston was right
when he noted: "The Bible is the greatest story
ever told."
God sent His only Son to die
in our place to restore us back to Himself. What
sin and our personal "works of
righteousness" couldn't do; Jesus did by His
life, death and resurrection. Praise God! The Gospel
means "Good News" and often what we hear
today in print and media is not "good."
But the beauty is that God's love is everlasting to
those that call upon His Name; He redeems the
un-righteous, offers healing to the hurting, grace to
the grief stricken, hope to the hope-less, acceptance
to the rejected, a Father to the father-less, joy to
those with no job and because He lives we can too! Friends,
that is "
GOOD NEWS" and
Jesus is coming back!"
"FRANKLY
SPEAKING"
Listen "LIVE"
from Bethel
Baptist Church -
Fredericksburg, VA (11AM service)
CLICK HERE http://www.bethelbaptistva.org/sermons/07-30-2006-11am_Frank%20Shelton.mp3