January 29, 2010

Please visit Country Bible Church at their new website
www.countrybiblechurchtx.showitsite.com

Justin Peters Seminar

It is not often that quality Christian seminars come to the Corpus Christi area. But the Call to Discernment seminar presented by Justin Peters is such a seminar. Justin Peters is a staff
evangelist of the First Baptist Church of Vicksburg, Mississippi. You can find out more information about Justin at his website < www.justinpeters.org >. In a five session seminar, Justin critques the Word of Faith movement (Prosperity Gospel or Name it and Claim it). It is certainly a needful message for the church today.

All seminar sessions will be held at Church of Grace, Robstown,TX.

Seminar Schedule is as follows:
Session 1: July 5 - 11 am
Session 2: July 5 - 6 pm
Session 3: July 6 - 7 pm
Session 4: July 7 - 7 pm
Session 5: July 8 - 7 pm

Thanks to Pastor Chris Deluna and his church for hosting this seminar.

This morning I was reading the familiar account of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead (Jn. 11:1-44). I was overwhelmed at the fact that Lazareth was really dead! He wasn't seriously injured or suffering from from a terrible disease - He was physically dead! He had beed dead for four days, and as Martha told Jesus, "...He stinketh!" (Jn. 11:39 KJV).
What a picture this is of the spiritual condition of every lost sinner. Just as Lazarus was physically dead, every person is born spiritually dead - dead to God. So, in a spiritual sense, he/she "stinketh!" Just like Lazarus had no power of any kind to give life back to his physical body, the spiritually dead have no power or ability of any kind to bring back spiritual life - life with God. (Take time to examine these verses: Jer 13:23; Rom 3:10-18; 1 Cor 2:14; Eph 2:1-3). Neither can he use his mind to decide to come to God because his mind is dead Eph 3:17; Rom 8:5-8). Because his heart and mind or dead, he has now will to know God.
Just as Lazarus, being dead, had neither the heart or mind to impart any spiritual life to his physically dead body, the lost sinner has neither heart, mind, or will to impart any spiritual life to his/her spiritually dead body.
But what Lazarus couldn't do, Jesus did! With divine supernatural power, He commanded, "Lazarus, come forth!" And Jesus imparted physical life to Lazarus' dead body and he came forth, alive! Likewise, He has also imparted spiritual life to dead spiritual corpses - to all who through faith in Him have received His grace (Eph 2:8). Listen to these great words of Scripture: But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, in order that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus (Eph 2:4-7 NAS). Now, we are no longer one who "stinketh!", but one who is a fragrant aroma to God (Eph 5:2; 2 Cor 2:14). We can exclaim with Paul, "Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!" (2 Cor 9:15).

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