Graceland Christian Church

How are you preparing for your future?

How are you preparing for your future?
 
Preparing - To make someone ready or able to do or deal with something that will happen in the future. Biblical preparation is different than worldly preparation in that it begins with praying for God's timing and adjusting actions accordingly. This kind of preparation is what brings true peace to a believer. No one is certain of future events unless we can read it in Script but every christian can certainly be preparing and ready of the tings to come. WE must realize as God's children that God never does anything without sending warnings (signs) before things happen. In the world we live in today, Bible prophesy is being fulfilled right before our very eyes and most people are ignoring the signs. If there is a hurricane coming directly for us, we do everything within our ability to prepare, but when it comes to Spiritual things, we tend to be less concerned, just as in the days of Noah before the flood. Brothers and sisters, it's time to prepare for the future events that Jesus promised us were coming.

Are you living in God's will?

 
Are you living in God's will?
 
God's will refers to obedience to God's revealed will or plan for how we should live. I believe we can and should know God's specific will for our lives, I also believe that most christians will be very surprised when they get to Heaven and see the life that God had chosen compared to the ones that we lived. Romans 11:39 says - For the gifts and callings of God are irrevocable.
Meaning that before we were created, God predestined our lives and no matter if we want or like, the callings (or will of God) we cannot change them and still be pleasing to God. Jesus taught us to pray, "Lord, Your will be done in earth as it is in Heaven." I pray that if you have not been truly seeking God's perfect will for your life, you will begin today! In Luke 6:46 Jesus said Why do you call Me Lord Lord and do not do what I say? The best place we as christians can be is in His will. If we are outside of His will we will never know the true joy of working for God's kingdom.

Stay with Him

"Stay with Him"
 
Stay = To continue or remain in a place or condition. Today's message can be
a strong waning to those who are drifting away from Christ or it can be an encouragement to those who are rooted and grounded in God's love. No one likes being the bearer of bad news, but the reality is that when Jesus gave a parable in Matthew 13, only a fourth of the people who heard God's Word positioned themselves to continue to be obedient to His Word. When Jesus said in John 8:31, "If you abide in My Word, you are My disciples indeed", Jesus was saying that if we live by His principles, practices, purposes, and promises, when circumstances arise, we will not run from Him but to Him!

What does God expect from Christians?

What does God expect from Christians?
 
Expect in Hebrew means to wait, to look forward to, to anticipate.
Anticipate means to realize beforehand, to foresee. Remember Jeremiah 1:5?
The Lord told Jeremiah, "Before I formed you, I knew you, sanctified you and ordained you a prophet to the nations. Jeremiah, like so many of us today, immediately began to make excuses as to why he couldn't do what God commanded him to do. One of the most common excuses for not doing what God expects of us is the fear of failure. This, sad to say happens in the modern day church because many or most Christians try living their lives or fulfilling their calling in their own natural power or ability, which never works and nobody benefits from it. Before Christ was crucified, He promised the coming of the Holy Spirit to help us as believers to fulfill what God created us for! There are people suffering all over the world today because Christians are not fulfilling the duties of Christ. This must hurt the heart of our Father. Let's remember that the true evidence of the Spirit of God living in us is our desire for personal holiness and fellowship with God and doing what He expects from us! Let's all strive to be well pleasing to our Father in Heaven.

Preventative Spiritual Maintenance

 
"Preventative Spiritual Maintenance"
 
Preventative = 1. Designed to keep something undesirable such as illness,
harm, or accidents from occurring; preventive. 2. A medicine or other treatment designed to stop disease or ill health from occurring. Maintenance = The process of preserving someone or something, the process of keeping something in good condition. What is the "status" of your spiritual walk with Jesus? The Scriptures teach us that the rain (blessing and problems, etc.) fall on the just and unjust alike (Matt. 5:45). In this life, there are things that we certainly cannot control, but, there are many things that we are capable of letting in our lives that will eventually wear us down and make us slowly lose our intimacy with Jesus. I pray that all Christians look to God's Word and do some preventative Spiritual maintenance, it will work for our good as lives goes on!

Do not limit the Holy Spirit

 
"Do not limit the Holy Spirit"
 
Limit definition from the KJV dictionary - I. The act of bounding. 2 - Restriction; restraint. As Christians, we are to know what God wants us to do, know what is ours according to God's Word and then seek after it with all our hearts. There should be no limitations, we are called to accomplish
"everything" that God has called us to be and called us to do. Proverbs 3:5-6 says - Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your path straight. Everyone longs for and chases things in this life that only God can provide. We all want peace, joy, love, purpose, etc. but these come only though God's Spirit. If there is a mountain (problem, sin, etc.) in your life today that's blocking God's purpose for you then unleash the power of the Holy Spirit, don't limit His ability to free you today!

The Evidence Of A True Gospel Transformed Life

-Today's Message-
 
"The evidence of a true Gospel transformed life"
Evidence = 1. One who bears witness. 2. That which tends to prove or disprove something. Throughout the scripture, there are tests and qualifications to know that you belong to God. A person who is a true Christian must live a Christ honoring, Christ obeying life or else they are a fraud. ! John 5:2 says - By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments. 1 John 4:9 says - In this the love of God was manifested toward us. Manifested means to make clear or evident. When a person truly has the love of God in their heart, it will always show through their actions. Are we living what we say? Better yet, are we living in demonstration of God's love and power? Is our lives a testimony of a true Gospel transformed life? We must remember, it is not us that does the transforming, it's us presenting ourselves to Christ and He is the One who molds us and shapes our lives into His image. Anyone can have a life that pleases the Father. What pleases Him is holding on to biblical faith and abiding in His love.

Water Baptism

-Today's Message-
 
"Water Baptism"
Today we have the privilege of taking part in several people's obedience to Jesus' command to be baptized in the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit! The only two requirements for water baptism is #1 - To be saved, to accept Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior and
#2 - John said "to have a great desire to bear good fruit, to live as close as we can to Jesus' example!" Water baptism dosen't save anyone or can't make anyone more holy, it's simply an outward act of what we already believe in our hearts. It symbolizes our death, burial, and resurrection with Christ in newness of life with Christ Who abides in our hearts. Congratulations to everyone taking part in this baptismal ceremony today!

What are you doing?

"Today's Message"
What are you doing?"
Doing - 1. The activities in which a particular person engages. 2. The act of performing, action, to move or to accomplish. As Christians, we cannot be truly sacrificed to Christ and be inactive in His work. I pray that after this message, we could change our status from inactive to active or from active to more active! The Apostle Paul said in 2 Timothy 4:5 - "But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. The second part of Romans 10:14 says - "And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher or one being sent*. The Bible is the story of love, love is action. God created the church which is made up of many members to go out (action) into the world, not to be observers but to be doers - followers of Jesus! As we study the book of Acts, the actions of Jesus apostles, we should be very encouraged as to what the Holy Spirit did through these ordinary men filled with Jesus' power. The good news is that we have the same power available to us today to be doers of God's plan for our lives. Let's get excited as to what God is gonna do through His last days body of Christ!

What If We Knew The Consequences Of Our Decisions?” (Part 2)

~Today’s Message~
 
 
“What if we knew the consequences of our decisions?” (Part 2)
Last week, we said “what if” was a question about what could have happened or what could happen in a particular situation “if” something was or had been different. Today, I want us to focus on the word “consequence”. Consequence is a result or affect of our actions or condition. Everyone in the world will face consequences, either good or bad. The choice belongs to every individual. There are things that happen in life that we have no control over, God dosen’t hold us accountable for those things but on the other hand, there are things or decisions that we make that can affect our future for the good or bad. The whole purpose of this message is for each one of us to truly examine our walk with God and be sure we are in His perfect will! Let’s all know that our decisions will affect others, again, of the good or bad. So let’s make some proper adjustments in our walk with God starting NOW!