Week Five

I want to thank you for being with us for week 5 of our Don’t get lost on Route 66 Bible Study. Over the past 4 weeks we have covered the topics: Be Aware of the Road Signs, Stay on the Road Until You Reach Your Destination, Focus On the Road & Be Aware of Hitchhikers. This week we will cover the subject “Don’t drive too fast or you might get a ticket”.

When you get your driver’s license you have to study the driver’s manual, learn the rules of having and keeping a driver’s license and then take a test and pass it to obtain that license. Keeping it after that is not a right, it is a privilege and if you do not keep the rules there are punishments for breaking them. Up to and including losing your Driver’s license.

In our walk with God, it’s the same. Jesus paid the price at Calvary for our sins. When we come to Jesus and are born again of water and of the Spirit, that is our ticket into heaven. But as we walk & grow through the process of sanctification God gives u rules in the Word of God to follow that will help us along the way.

It says in Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. The Bible says in Ephesians 2:1- 9 And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) And hath raised us up together and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.

As we go through life, we all fall short of the glory of God and sin, but I am thankful that our Lord Jesus died on the cross for our sins and has given us an avenue of repentance through His death, burial and resurrection. And Trust me, He knew that we would fail at times. The Bible says in Micah 7:8 Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy: when I fall, I shall arise; when I sit in darkness, the Lord shall be a light unto me. God said here WHEN I fall… not IF I fall. He knew we would fall at times because we are stuck in this flesh. When we are faced with situations and temptations that might make us fall, we must learn to crucify this flesh. Just like Paul said, “I die daily.” This was not a physical death. This is a spiritual death to the temptations of life. Just like the driver’s manual gives us instructions for driving, Jesus gave us instructions for salvation and how to live after we are saved as we walk through this process of sanctification with Him. Jesus was very clear in His word about the need for & the process of salvation. During his conversation with Nicodemus in John 3 He said lest a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus didn’t understand this statement and asked Jesus how can a man that is old be born again? I am paraphrasing here. Jesus answered him in John 3:5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. Jesus was speaking here of the rebirth that will take us to heaven. He was not speaking of an earthly, fleshly birth but a rebirth in the spirit. He is giving Nicodemus instruction here on the NEED to be born again. The Bible further gives us instructions thru Peter in Acts 2:38 on HOW to be born again of the water and the spirit where it says: And Peter said unto them Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. Now, we covered repentance a few weeks ago. Repentance is us acknowledging our sins and asking for forgiveness. The Bible tells us that the price for our sins, or the remission of our sins was paid on calvary. Jesus paid this price. He was the ultimate sacrifice for our sins. In the old testament people had to make animal sacrifices to atone for their sins. God looked down on us and said ok this is a never-ending process. The animals were only a temporary sacrifice and when the people sinned again, they had to repeat the process. This is why Jesus came. He was born a sinless man because the Holy Ghost overshadowed Mary. Sin entered this world through Adam’s bloodline when he fell in the garden and ate the fruit, and this had to be fixed, but this would take a sinless man which was Jesus Christ. You see … when a baby is conceived the blood comes from the father. This was why Joseph could not be with Mary before Jesus was born. If he had then Jesus would have been born in sin just like every other man. But the physical man, Jesus, was fathered by God when The Spirit of God overshadowed Mary. This is how God became the father of the physical man Jesus. Therefore, there was no sin in his bloodline. This is how he became the ultimate sacrifice for our sins and forever paid the price so that we could receive the forgiveness His blood paid for. So, the price for our sins was paid at calvary, but for us to receive the forgiveness that Jesus paid for we must repent and ask for it… OK, think of it this way. You have a light bill due. I know you owe this light bill. In my love for you, I go to my bank and take out money for you to pay this light bill and I tell you I have the money for you, but you never come pick it up. That money will still be out of my account but, even though I have it in my hand ready for you, it will never be yours until you come get it and pay your light bill. Jesus did this for us even before we were born. He paid the price for our sins. Now it is up to us to go to him and acknowledge that we have this sin and ask Him for forgiveness, and then turn from our wicked ways. Just like if you come get the money, but never pay the light bill you will eventually end up in the dark. If we come to Jesus and acknowledge our sin, but never ask him for forgiveness and then turn from our sins we will still be lost. This is the reason for repentance. It is us acknowledging our sins, asking forgiveness for them, and then turning from them and walking with Jesus in His glorious light instead of ending up lost in sin.

Peter goes on in Acts 2:38 to say that after repentance we are to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of our sins. Water baptism in Jesus’ name is a type and shadow of the death and burial of Jesus Christ. When baptized in Jesus’ name by full immersion in water we are buried in HIs name and we come up out of that water with His name on us we are born again of the water. At this point we are adopted and grafted into the family of God. In the natural world when you adopt a child, they take on your last name. So, when we are baptized in Jesus’ name, we take on His name. We become His child as we are born again of the water in His name.

Acts 2:38 goes on to say that we shall receive the GIFT of the Holy Ghost. Receiving this gift of the Holy Ghost is us being filled with His spirit. This is when we open our heart for the Spirit of God to come into our hearts and live in us. This is the comforter Jesus spoke of before he ascended into heaven after he was crucified and rose from the dead. This is being born of the Spirit. This fulfills the instruction that was given by Jesus in John 3:5 as to the need to be born again. Just like the driver’s manual gives us instructions on how to obtain and keep our license, The Bible gives us instructions on how to be born again of water and of the Spirit and it is vital that we follow these instructions to receive salvation and just like after we receive our driver’s license and we must follow instructions to keep them, the same applies after we are born again of water and of the spirit. The Bible gives us instructions on how to walk and live as children of God. This process of walking is called Sanctification. In this process is where we gain our knowledge, power, and strength to face the things we must face every day. The Bible says in Acts 1:8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. So not only is this a mandate found in John 3 that we must be born again of the water and the spirit, but it is also how we receive power from the Holy Ghost to daily walk with, while we are on this journey until we make it to our final destination, which is heaven. I pray that we all can walk in this process and grow with Jesus as we travel on this journey with Him.

So, this week I will leave you, just like in the week prior, with two questions to think on this week.

QUESTIONS:

1. The first question was initially asked by Paul. In Acts 19:2 He said unto them, have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? So, I pose this same question to you all tonight. Have you been born again of the water and the Spirit? __________________________

2. Have you been baptized in Jesus Name since you believed? _____

Have you received the Holy Ghost with the evidence of speaking in other tongues since you believed? _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

If your answer to question 1. was Yes, then I say Praise God. If your answer to this question was no, then I say, are you ready? Is today the day you will surrender your life over to Jesus and respond to His call of “Whosoever will come, let Him come? ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________