Made Alive With Christ

By His Grace We Are Saved (Ephesians 2:1-9) Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins. 2You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil—the commander of the powers in the unseen world. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God. 3All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature we were subject to God’s anger, just like everyone else. 4But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, 5that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!) 6For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus. 7So God can point to us in all future ages as examples of the incredible wealth of his grace and kindness toward us, as shown in all he has done for us who are united with Christ Jesus. 8God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. 9Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. (Ephesians 2:1-9) Why is being a born again Christian so different from other religions or faiths. Because #1 we serve a risen Saviour, He's not dead, He's ALIVE. For it was by His Grace and love that we were saved. In Ephesians 2: Apostle Paul says that we would not even know about grace and we would not know about what condition we were in spiritually if it were not for the grace of God. All men, women and children in the world "were dead in your transgressions and sins,” according to (v. 1). you know from what I have seen of a dead bidy it cannot do anything to help and or to rescue itself. Anybody can do anything they want to that body and there is no resistance. The bible tell us that we were all spiritually dead, no risitance to the works of the devil, we simply went about “gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts”(v. 3). But then God decided to make us aware by sending Jesus down out of love and grace to save us from our sins. HE came to pay the penilty for our sins and we became aware of sin. He,“made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved” (v. 5). This saving had nothing to do with us, it was all God’s grace, “so that no one can boast” (v. 9). God’s grace came to us and begin to draws us to Him, it not only drew is but it also then keeps us and sets us free “to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (v. 10). It is no wonder we love to sing that old Him, "AMAZING GRACE HOW SWEET THE SOUND" that saved a wrech like me. Have you ever been shown grace, I know I have, maybe my experience may help you see how Gosd has been gracious to you as well. When I was in Bible School, God was doing an amazing work in my life and I seen where there was a number of sins in my life and I thought if anyone knew about these sins, especially the principle or teachers, I would for sure be dismissed from school. But God told me, inorder for me to get rid of these sins, first I needed to confess them to Him and second I needed help, I needed to make myself accountable to my principle or a teacher. The first sin, which I considered the hardest one to break,I took it to the principle, and after sharing with Him, He didnt dismiss me, but was willing to make me accountable to him, that he would check in with me from time to time to see how I was doing. In His way, He did just that and I knew he was watching and praying. Also the second struggle I had, I took to a teacher, and he as well offered me grace and help in solving and getting rid of a burden of sin that had been wieghing me down for years. I also felt I needed to tell my then girlfriend and now my wife, and she played a big part in the grace that was extended to me. Friends listen, do not allow satan to load you down with sin and guilt, because God grace will lift it off when we bring it to Him in remorse and repentance, asking for forgiveness. We do not have to carry it, and He will help us be resposible in kicking those habitual sins. Setting us free. My friends, God's grace is an amazing grace, the grace Jesus is offering, is a salvation to our souls. I know we do not deserve it at all, but thats why it is grace. I got that message those days, when I confessed to Jesus and found a friend to walk with me, but it all began the day I trusted Jesus as Savior and He that began a good work in me is completing it along the way, (Philippians 1:6) because of His commitment to me, I have spent the rest of my life serving Him the best I can. My wife and I over the years have seen God lead us into a number of ministries, He has touched many people through out the years. "To God Be The Glory" IT WAS"T "me" it was HE. (JESUS) So I am hear to tell you that the burden of our sins do not have to hold us back. They do not have to weigh us down. You can find that out the same as I did, and discover, God’s grace is suffitient for you, it can free free you, free us from sin and give us life “to the full” (John 10:10). I pray that you will you experience God’s grace in your life. And that you will not keep it to yourself but also share it with others that they to might experience the loving grace of God. Dear God and Heavenly Father, You are so, so good, thank You for showering us/me Your grace and offering it to me as a free gift. Please help me in my life to be a good exampe of YOUR grace and mercy. It is in Your name I pray AMEN