What is your purpose here on earth?

To glorify God and to bring him pleasure. To know him. You were made by God and for God. How do you begin to glorify God? God has created each of us with a desire for deep, intimate relationship with him. In Jeremiah 9:23-24 it says the most important thing of all is to know him personally, both now and eternally. “Do not glory in wisdom, do not glory in riches, but glorify Me in this…that you understand and know Me.” So it all begins with God!

“For I have created him for My glory, I have formed him…” Isaiah 43:7

“For You have created all things for your pleasure.” Revelations 4:11

The seminar begins with the topic “Who is God?”

What you think about God is the most important thing about you. It affects everything in your life. We tend to assume God is like us but He is not. He is a Spirit, infinite, eternal, unchangeable. God is holy, all powerful, all knowing, all wise, good, and totally sovereign. Indescribable! This great God desires a personal, intimate relationship with you! But He is holy and just and he cannot tolerate sin in his presence. We are all born with a sin nature that separates us from God due to his perfect, holy nature. Due to his perfect goodness he must punish sin, but it is not his will that any perish but all come to the knowledge of the truth. Jesus said, “I AM the way, the truth, and the life; no man comes to the Father but through Me.” (John 14:6)

He will “bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing, whether is be good or evil.” (Ecclesiastes 12:14) God will “by no means clear the guilty.” (Exodus 34:7) God is to be feared. “The fear of the Lord leads to life.” (Proverbs 19:23)

“It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the Living God.” Hebrews 10:31

Sinners, fear greatly – for you have a guilty conscience within you, a righteous Judge above you, and a burning hell below you.

Think of eternity! 

God already has a name, an identity. We don’t get to decide who God is. “God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM” (Ex. 3:14). We don’t change that. God cannot be explained by our vocabulary or grasped by our understanding. He is beyond us. His perfect holiness, assures us that our words can’t contain him.

Example: Fire must burn the leaf. If you were to place a dried-out leaf into the presence of fire, you would notice that the fire would not hesitate to consume the leaf in a matter of seconds. The fire must consume the leaf because of its very nature. Even if the fire didn’t want to dispose of the leaf, it wouldn’t matter; it still must consume it because their natures are diametrically opposed to one other. (We are born with a sinful nature, which cannot be in the presence of God’s holy nature.)

God is not Holy. God is not Holy, Holy.

God is Holy, Holy, Holy! (Isaiah 6:3)

He is perfectly set apart, distinct from us, with nothing and no one to compare him to. (That is what it means to be “Holy”). “Our God is a consuming fire” By his very nature, God must consume anything and everything that opposes his holy nature. We must put on the Lord Jesus Christ, or we will be consumed by the ever-pure, burning holiness of the King of kings.

Out of Christ, God is a consuming fire. In Christ, he is a reconciled Father.

In a fire, the only safe place is where it has already burned. On Judgment Day, the only place of safety is where God’s wrath has already been—Christ. This is why you need to born again, to receive a new nature—the righteousness of Christ!

Who do we need to be saved from? God himself! 

Life without God is like an unsharpened pencil – it has no point!

“Most men will proclaim his own goodness.” (Prov. 20:6) This is why people need the Moral Law to recognize their disease of sin and self-righteous nature.

“They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick.” Matthew 9:12

Sin wouldn’t be so attractive if the wages were paid immediately. 

The whole world is a prisoner of the Law! Romans 3:19,20: “…that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.” (Romans 7:13)

The Law cannot save you but shows you how filthy you are! 

In examining yourself, do not compare yourself with the standard of men. Measure yourself by God’s perfect standard…the Moral Law – The Ten Commandments.  What is the purpose of the Law? …to show you how sinful you are! That you are in trouble. You are helpless. Condemned by the Law. God made this law and all are under it. You are a prisoner of this perfect law.

“Sin is the transgression of the Law.” 1 John 3:4

“The strength of sin is the Law.” 1 Corinthians 15:56

The Ten Commandments bring the knowledge of sin, convicts the conscience, and makes the wrath of God understandable, as the just consequence of sin. 

“When the sinner sees the awful consequences of breaking the Law of God—that he cannot escape the certainty of judgment—he will see his need to put on the Lord Jesus Christ. When we preach future punishment by the Law, the sinner comes to Christ solely to flee from ‘the wrath to come.” Charles Spurgeon

Have you ever lied, looked with lust (adultery of the heart), desired what others have, or taken God’s Name in vain? “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” The Lord says, ‘I search the heart…’ (Jeremiah 17:9,10)

Two important questions: Are you innocent or guilty? Would you go to heaven or to hell? The Bible says whoever breaks one commandment is “guilty” of breaking them all. (James 2:10)  “In many things we offend all.” (James 3:2) We are all vile and imperfect in the sight of God. There is not a just man upon earth, that does good and sins not. (Eccles. 7:20) “If you contend with God, you cannot answer Him one in a thousand.” (Job 9:3)

Lord, save me from that evil man – myself! – Augustine of Hippo

The Law cannot save you but leaves you a guilty, helpless sinner, needing a Savior!  It is our “teacher” bringing us to Christ. (Galatians 3:24) Christ is the mediator between yourself and God. Without Christ, you should tremble, as you look to eternity. Through Christ, the chief of sinners may approach God with confidence, and find perfect peace.

“Therefore the law has become our tutor (schoolmaster) to lead us to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith.” Galatians 3:24

The Perfect Moral Law could not justify you or save you but only condemn you. Because we could never keep it (Rom. 7:10) in the weakness of our flesh…“Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Law” (Gal. 3:10) 

Never forget this! By his death, he died to redeem you from the curse which you deserved, which must otherwise have condemned you. He took the curse of the law upon himself, having become the curse for you. (Gal. 3:13) He is the only One that made a full and complete satisfaction to the justice of God out of his perfect love and mercy! He bore your sins, your condemnation, and even his own wrath was poured on his own body on the tree.

The Lord laid on him the iniquity of us all. When he died, he died for you. When he suffered, he suffered for you in your place. When he hung on the cross, he hung there as your Substitute. When his blood flowed, it was the price of your soul – out of his GREAT LOVE for YOU!

Think of eternity! “Seek you the Lord while he may be found, call you upon him while He is near.” Isaiah 55:6

“The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us” (John 1:14) We are dealing with Christ, who became flesh, walked among men, gave His life for man and rose on the third day from the dead. The question is not what you think of Christianity but what you think of Christ? And what you are going to do about Him?

Before faith came, all of us were held prisoners by the law, locked up, until faith should be revealed.

Christ, who fulfilled the law perfectly (Mat.5:17), came to deliver each soul from the law of sin & death – perfect Moral law, Ten Commandments.

When you repent and put your faith in Jesus Christ, “the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you FREE from the law of sin and death.” Romans 8:2  

God is a “Good” Judge, then by nature He will make sure that justice is served. The Bible says he will punish sin wherever it is found and sinners will be punished for what they have done. God never excuses sin. Whenever you start to question whether God really hates sin, you have to only think of the cross, where his Son was tortured, mocked, and beaten because of sin–your sin and the sin of each human being.

How can you be saved from God’s wrath?

Explaining how to be saved from God’s wrath–the “good news” of Jesus Christ!

God delights in mercy! It is his darling attribute. How do you receive his mercy? “As the heaven is high above the earth so great is his mercy towards them that Fear Him!” (Psalm 103:11)

What happens when you Fear Him? What is God asking of YOU? Simply, you will humble yourself with a repentant heart–be sorry for sins, confess your sins, and forsake them (Luke 13:3), and put your faith in Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, who died on the cross in your place, rose again, and defeated death. (1 Cor. 15:3-4).

Repentance is a change of mind that results in a change of action. You no longer look to yourself. (You recognize you are lost and desperately need to be rescued from sin.) You look to your Savior that paid the price for your debt of your sin.

Who does God give grace to? He gives grace to the humble but resists the proud. (1 Peter 5:5,6; James 4:6,7) When you humble yourself you are not justifying yourself anymore. You recognize that you sinned against God. You lay down your will. You place your entire dependence on God. Pride and grace never dwell in the same place. God says in Prov. 8:13, “I hate pride and arrogance.”

To be whole only comes after being broken. 

“The wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Romans 6:23

 “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.” Hebrews 3:15

God’s gift to mankind is that he became mankind. 

Look to the cross—God in the person of Jesus Christ took your punishment upon himself, paying your fine so that you could leave the courtroom. Through his death and resurrection, you can have everlasting life, if you come with a humble repentance and then trust Jesus Christ as your Savior. (John 3:16; Acts 20:21) The minute you do so, you will be born again. (John 3:3) You will be a new creature in Christ. Old things are passed away. All things become new. It is a total transformation! You will be given a new heart and a new mind with new desires.

“Christ is able to save to the uttermost, all who come unto God by him!” Hebrews 7:25

Who can be saved? With God all things are possible!

“For by grace are you saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God. NOT of works, lest any man should boast.” Ephesians 2:8

It cannot be earned, only accepted! It is not about you. You cannot earn this inheritance. It is given to you by placing your faith in Jesus Christ, your perfect substitute for your sin. You broke his law. God sent his Son, Jesus Christ, to save you from the condemnation of the law. (Beware of adding anything to the perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ. If you add anything, of your own good works to earn salvation, then you are saying that Christ’s sacrifice is not good enough.)

Jesus Christ identified himself with us in our death in order that we might be identified with him in his resurrection. It is a total exchange of identity when you are born again. We give Christ all that we were –spiritually dead, guilty sinners, deserving his wrath – and Christ gives us all that he is – righteousness, resurrected life, forgiveness, and acceptance into his family.

Although salvation is a free gift, it will cost you everything to follow Christ! 

“Come and die” … What kind of invitation is that?

Do you want to follow Jesus?

“Whosoever desires to come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” Mark 8:34

On the highway of life, Christianity is a U-turn; not a rest stop or an exit ramp.

No matter who we are, God can restore you to a right standing with God only by means of the death of Jesus Christ. To identify with the death of Jesus Christ means that you must die to your sins, and die to yourself, and arise into a new creature through his resurrection.

Are you ready to DIE to yourself? When you come to Christ, you die to yourself to love one another as he has so loved you!

Are you willing to part with anything – however dear it may be – if it stands between you and your salvation? You must be ready to cut off your sin, like it was your right hand or your right eye, to make any sacrifice, and to break any idol. You must bury your love of the world, with its riches, honors, pleasures, and cast away anything that stands in the way of your soul. You must remember that eternal life is at stake. One leak neglected is enough to sink a mighty ship.

How will that happen? The disciples asked, “Who then can be saved?” The Lord’s reply – “The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.” (Luke 18:26,27)

When you become born again, you have a new master! You are married to Jesus! “…that you should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that should bring forth fruit unto God.” (Romans 7:4) As a disciple of Christ, you need to give up control over your own will, your own agenda, your time, money, etc., and be totally surrendered to do the Lord’s will and follow his agenda.

Christ comes and lives in you! How can YOU fulfill the requirements of the Law of God? He gives you the “the law of the the Spirit” to live within you! By his Holy Spirit and Christ within you, you can obey God’s laws.

What is the “Law of the Spirit of life” that freed you from the “Law of sin and death“? The law of love! “LOVE is the fulfillment of the law.” LOVE God and LOVE others, the two Great Commandments, covers all of the Ten Commandments. “On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” (Mat. 22:37-40)

“Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for he who loves another has fulfilled the law. Love does no harm to his neighbor: therefore love is the fulfilling of the Law.” (Rom. 13:8-10)

“That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” Romans 8:4

“Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.” Gal. 5:16

Mike and Madam Yadley sharing the importance of walking in the Spirit when you are a follower of Christ.

The Good News – is that you can have God Himself. Do you believe that God is the greatest thing you can experience in the whole world?

Again, what is your purpose on earth? To glorify God and to bring him pleasure. Isn’t that what God wants of us – to crave an intimate relationship with Him? Isn’t that what brings Him glory? Let him glorify Me in this, to understand and know Me…. Knowing God is a matter of personal involvement – mind, will and feeling. “Taste and see that the LORD is good.” (Psalm 34:8) God brings you to know Him by making His love known to you. The greatest good on earth is God. Period. God’s goal for you is Himself.

God’s work in your life is to bring glory to Himself and display Himself.

How can you best glorify God and bring him pleasure? 

Becoming like him – Imitating Christ! 

How can you imitate Christ? When you are married to Christ, he lives in you! It is not Christ and you, but Christ in you. When you are IN Christ, and Christ is IN you, everything changes! Fear God and keep his commandments; to love God (with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength), and to love your neighbor as yourself!

When you have a relationship with your Creator and his Spirit of Love, that changes everything! “My sheep hear My voice,” says Jesus; “I know them, and they follow Me.” (John 10:27)

What a great Salvation! What a great Redeemer! What great LOVE! 

God forms us, sin deforms us, and Jesus Christ transforms us. 

(Examine yourself: are you born again? Are you ready to meet your Maker if you were to die today? Is your name written in the Book of Life?)

Live for the audience of One! Live for eternity.