What are you doing here? Sermon by Ira Bowman

I was blessed with an opportunity to preach on 12-28-14 at Calvary Baptist Church in New Braunfels, TX.  I hope it is a blessing to you if you watch it.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGEz3dMv4S0

The Two Others

Jesus was crucified on hill long ago. He died with two other men and today I hope to help you consider their story for it may help you write your own. You see the Bible tells us that one of the men being hung on a cross just like the Lord Jesus’ was railing on Him, making fun of Him and taunting Him. He was bitter and angry at the world and had nothing to hope for. The other man also condemned to die had a different mentality, he realized he was there justly and that Jesus was not. He asked Jesus to forgive Him of his sins. All three men died that day. Jesus is in Heaven but what about the other two?

The Bible says that we are all sinners and that the penalty for sinning is death. Physical death will happen to all of us as it did those men on the crosses next to Jesus long ago. Both of them were sinners, as too am I and you who are reading this. The only one who ever lived a perfect and sinless life was Jesus. You see He didn’t have to die for Himself as He never sinned. Death that day was defeated by the Lord, because He didn’t need the payment for Himself, He gets to apply it to all who trust in Him for salvation.

One man to His left and one man to His right. Their physical position was not relevant as frankly their performance in life. You see one sin or many, large sins or tiny sins, we are all guilty and in need of a Savior. So what happens when their physical bodies finally gave out and they died?

The one who didn’t repent, the one who kept teasing and tormenting the Lord is forever in Hell. Not because he was mean or even because he taunted Jesus right before he died, but instead because he rejected the Lord and refused to believe in Him. You see Jesus is the only thing that matters when it comes to salvation. Your life has condemned you just as it has this man. If you die without Jesus you will share his fate, one forever in Hell being tormented continuously. That is no way to spend eternity.

The other man who repented and asked the Lord to remember Him that day, is in Heaven. He isn’t there because he was sympathetic to the Lord or nice at the end. No, just like the other man his performance was irrelevant, as sins condemned him just as much as the man who went to Hell. So what is the difference you ask? Jesus. The difference is the one accepted Jesus and the other rejected Jesus. The only acceptable payment for your sins is the one available through Jesus. Jesus is the only way to Heaven, because He’s the only one who can pay our sin debt for us.

When your body dies and it will, there are only two places you soul which will live forever can go. One is with the Lord in Heaven and the other is without the Lord, in Hell. Hell isn’t a joke, nothing to scoff at. It was created as a reward for Satan, to punish him and his demons for ever for their disobedience and wickedness. You don’t want to go there, even if you think you do.

So are you still like the first of the men to die next to Jesus that day on a hill long ago? Are you still mocking the Lord and railing against Him every chance you get? Do you think you will beat the system? Have you even considered what happens to you when you die? I wonder how many who follow you, will in turn follow you right off a never ending cliff straight to Hell. You need to wake up while you still can.

I pray you will be like the second man. The man who died a sinner, but forgiven. He wasn’t forgiven because he earned it. He was forgiven because he trusted in Jesus alone for his salvation. This is why Jesus came to earth 33 years before He ultimately died on the cross. He came as a baby, to live a perfect life and pay the sin debt for you and me. One we could never pay on our own. Our job is pretty easy. We just have to humble ourselves, admit we’ve messed up, realize the penalty for those errors is eternal death and then ask the Lord Jesus who died for us, to forgive us. Doing that would make us like the second man.

Jesus birth, we celebrate tomorrow at Christmas, wouldn’t mean anything if He didn’t then die for us, the thing we celebrate at Easter. He conquered death three days later by raising from the grave. He paid the price and then rose to Heaven where He is currently seated at the right hand of God the Father. He’s preparing a home in Heaven for all who believe in Him for their salvation. This is the reason we celebrate Christmas. Are you ready to truly celebrate Christmas now? If so, repent of your sins and admit to the Lord you need Him to forgive you. I pray you will. If you do, please let me know so I can rejoice with you and perhaps help lead you in your new journey as a follower of Jesus.

Merry Christmas!

Follow Jesus, not religion

Don’t let religion get in the way of knowing Jesus.

God doesn’t tell us to be religious. Jesus tells us to “Follow Me” repeatedly. Consider:

“Now when Jesus heard these things, he said unto him, Yet lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me.” Luke 18:22

“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30

“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.” John 10:27-28

He warns against those trusting in their good works and religion. Some will trust their religion and be rejected, because it has never been and will never be about anything but trusting in the Lord. Consider:

“Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” Matthew 7:21-23

SO if you’re following religion, stop it!

Follow Jesus and be saved.

“That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Romans 10:9-13

Only JESUS saves. Do you know Jesus? Does He know you? You must allow Jesus into your heart. You can know all about Jesus and not be saved. Are you trusting in Jesus? If you’re unsure, let’s talk privately and I’d be happy to help you on your journey to meet the Lord Jesus. He can and will forgive you for your sins and wash you white as snow. He will secure your eternal future today if you simply believe in Him, repent of your sins and ask Him to be your Lord and Savior. Oh how I pray you will do it today.

Do you freely Submit to God’s will for your life?

Preparing for Share Your Faith, the Sunday School Class I’m blessed to teach. The main verse today, ” Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,” 2nd Timothy 1:9.

The question came up yesterday at our BBQ why we ended up in Texas instead of going to Michigan where my heart was telling me to go. The verse above answers the question perfectly, because my life isn’t about what I want, it’s about what the Lord wants for me. I desire to be where He wants me, doing what He wants me to do. He died for me, so I live for Him. He has a plan for all of us and it is much greater than anything we could ever plan for ourselves. This is a part of the Christian life, submitting to the will of the Father. Jesus did it as we see in Luke 22:42. I want to be like Him, so I do my best to do it too.

Question of the day: Are you following your heart or are you following the path God has for you? If you’re following your heart and struggle to know the path God has for you, I wonder if that is by choice. Hypothetically I wonder if you knew the difference would you still choose to follow your heart or would you submit? Perhaps the decision to submit should come before you know what the path He has for you will be revealed. Submitting to Jesus is the best thing I’ve ever done. I recommend it to everyone.

Are you smarter than God?

When your opinion goes against what is written in the Bible, you should repent. Are you smarter than God? Man can be smart, but man can also be extremely foolish when we esteem ourselves to be smarter than God. When man and God disagree, man is wrong. God is always right.

The Bible says, “Let God be true but every man a liar” in Romans 3:4 and it continues to tell us why at the end of the verse, “that thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged.”

You do know who is going to judge you right? God isn’t going to judge each individual based on their personal standards. He won’t judge you based on your beliefs. In the end your actions will be measured against His law.

God will judge you based on His standards and His is the only opinion you should be concerned with. Perhaps these verses in Isaiah 45 will clear it up for you, “22 Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else. 23 I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear. 24 Surely, shall one say, in the LORD have I righteousness and strength: even to him shall men come; and all that are incensed against him shall be ashamed.”

So where are you looking? Who’s opinion are you depending on? Is God’s Word the authority in your life or are you looking somewhere else?

Only God can save you. His law as contained in the Bible, which demands perfection, is what you’ll be condemned by unless you have accepted the Son Jesus. Everyone has sinned, so everyone needs the Savior.

When you’re judged you will find it all comes down to one question…have you repented of your sin and accepted Jesus or have you rejected God’s Son because you were unwilling to repent and follow God. We can go our own way, but we’ll end up in Hell. I’m so glad God gave us a way to go to Heaven. It isn’t our way, it’s much better. Jesus saves. Trust in Him. God is not a liar. When my opinions don’t match up with the Bible I know I am wrong and need to get right with God. I am bad, but He is good.

Casting Crowns for those who put their faith in Christ, then do good works.

So no matter how many good things you do in your life or what evil things you don’t do, will you ever be able to earn salvation. That is clear if you believe Jesus when He said, “No man comes to the Father but by me” in John 14:6

But that doesn’t mean that good works and avoiding evil are for nothing if you have believed in Jesus alone for your salvation. In fact very much the opposite is true.

If you can’t earn salvation which you clearly can not…otherwise Jesus would not have needed to come and die for us, what good is doing right and not giving into temptation and the lusts of our flesh?

There are actually quite a few reasons to do right including but not limited to: avoiding being chastised by a Heavenly Father who disciplines His children when they don’t obey, not sowing the bad actions avoids reaping bad consequences, helping to shine the light of Christ to others who are lost, preventing your offspring from suffering for your sins, being able to serve the Lord in more ministry work and my personal favorite earning crown/crowns to cast at the feet of Jesus in Heaven.

That’s right, there are many reasons to obey the Lord. I personally am excited about the opportunity to one day cast crowns if I earn them at the feet of Jesus. Did you know the Bible not only tells us about the possibility of casting the crowns, it also tells us how to earn them? So you see you can earn something by being good, but without faith in Jesus it is all for nothing.

If you are trusting in anything but Jesus for your salvation you will never have an opportunity to cast a crown at His feet because you won’t be in the same place as Him. Heaven is only for those who place all their trust in Christ alone. Heaven will not be a place for the “good” to brag and boast about all they did on Earth when they were “living” rather it will be a place to worship and praise God forever. You can’t earn Heaven, it is a gift for those who believe in Christ and trust Him with their eternal salvation.

For those of us who do believe in Christ alone, will rejoice, not to brag but to we will get some perks for being good. The benefits of our actions will one day result in an opportunity to not only live in Heaven, but be close enough to personally give the Lord something He allowed us to earn, so we can show Him a token of our gratitude for what He did on the cross for all of us.

Oh friends I am so looking forward to the day I get to bow at the feet of my Savior, cast a crow I pray I’ve earned or will earn to His feet and cry out “Thank you Lord, Thank You!” I get chills just thinking about it. I know I’m saved because I trust Him and His Word.

In what do you trust? Are you trying to earn crowns you’ll never get to cast because you have yet to place your trust in Christ? Don’t let anything stop you from knowing Jesus personally as Savior. I pray all will come to repentance as the Lord desires and submit to Him freely, so every sinner can be redeemed. If you’ve yet to place your trust in Christ Jesus, I beg you to do it now. If you want help, just ask. I’m here. I won’t embarrass you, but I will pray with you and share the Bible with you, so you can be confident in your salvation, the free gift offered to all who will repent of their sins and ask the Lord into their heart. God is good. I can’t wait to see His feet.

The truth is the truth, no matter what we believe!

What we believe doesn’t change what is true.

The truth, no matter how few believe it is still the truth.

I’m glad God wrote and preserves the truth forever, so those who choose to know it can, by reading the Holy Bible.

I’m also glad someone took the time to share the Bible with me, so I could know how to have a relationship with Jesus. If no one is willing to share the truth, how will others know it? God uses people to spread the Good News. It has always been that way. I count it a blessing to do His work. He died so I can live. That doesn’t mean I should live any old sinful way. He died so I can live, and I want to live for Him as I think we all should, in a way that honors Him and allows His light to shine. I desire to be more like Jesus and less like my old self every day.

True love is caring about a person so much that you don’t want to be politically correct, you want to ensure they hear about Jesus. Without Jesus no amount of religious works will ever be good enough. We are not judged by our works, because our works don’t free us from the penalty of our sin, which is death according to Romans 6:23. No the only thing that can free us from the penalty of our sin is the blood of Jesus Christ. He never sinned, so His blood can be a substitute for the blood you owe. His blood washed me clean. All people have to choose, to accept Jesus or pay themselves. Rejecting Jesus will send you to Hell. Religion doesn’t teach that…and that’s why religion always fails.

No religion can save you. Only Jesus saves. Have you ever placed your trust in Jesus? If so, spread the Word. If not, you are still breathing, so you still can. Don’t let foolish pride stop you from Heaven. You are a sinner and Jesus is the answer. He can save you if you will believe on Him and repent of your sins. Are you ready?

Faith in anything but God is just misguided trust.

Faith in anything but God is just misguided trust and in the end you will find yourself let down.

That faith could be in anything from yourself, your good deeds, your religion, your family, your money, your job, your country, your idol, your intellect, your heart…none of these things have any power other than what God gives them and none of them can keep you out of Hell. In fact most people will die and go to Hell because they believed in these things instead of God.

Faith in Jesus is the only thing that can save you. Have you placed your trust in Jesus? When did you do that? If not, perhaps today is the day that you submit to the Lord and find true peace. God is ready for you, if you’ll simply admit you’re hopelessly lost without Him.

Romans 3:4 God is True!

“God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged.” Romans 3:4

What we read in the Bible is true. Don’t believe the lies of the world over the truth found in God’s Word. The Bible has the Words of Life, by it we can know God, His plan for us, how to be saved and how He wants us to live. Following the Bible will lead you to God.

Following the world will always take you away from God. There are many roads to Hell and only one to Heaven. The world makes fun of the Bible and mocks God because they don’t want to submit to Him and admit their faults. Sin is fun for a season and that season is in full swing. Don’t be fooled, as judgement day awaits us all.

God is true. You can count on Him. Have you placed your trust in Jesus?

How many people do you know will go to Hell?

How many people do you know will go to Hell?

I wonder how many people even in our Bible teaching churches will go to Hell.

If you ask almost anyone they will most likely tell you that they are going to Heaven when they die. At church this can be very convincing. But if you then ask them why…you can see how lost most of us really are.

If Jesus were in front of you right now and asked you, “why should I let you into Heaven?” What would you say?

Too many will say things like: Because I grew up in church, I was baptized, I’ve done more good things than bad things, because God is love, because my family is a (fill in the blank) religion, because I pray to God all the time, because I don’t do evil things, because….on and on and on.

Do you know that people who know God is real and read the Bible will perish just like those who spend their whole life denying the truth? Have you not read in Matthew 7:22, “Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?” Perhaps you should consider Jesus’ response in Matthew 7:23, “And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.”

The Bible makes it clear how we get to Heaven, in fact there is only one way. “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” in John 14:6. Did you hear that? No one will be saved except if they put their faith in Jesus, who is the Savior of the world.

Hell is real. Too many will go there because they are stubborn or foolish or refuse to listen to the truth of the Bible. How many do you know that are trying to earn their salvation by doing religious things? You can’t earn a free gift. A gift that requires payment loses the classification of gift. Perhaps you’ve never read the Book of Ephesians, however the Bible is clear, “8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.” in Ephesians 2:8-9. Are you trying to earn salvation so you can brag in Heaven about how good you were? The arrogance of trying to earn something that has already been paid for can keep and has kept people from Heaven. We can’t add to the perfect payment God made.

Heaven or Hell are the two destinations available to all who die. There are no other options. So when you die where are you going? You don’t get to pick after you die, you really only get until your final breath to make the choice. Are you leading yourself and others who follow you off an eternal cliff because of your ignorance, arrogance or pride?

I suggest you believe that Jesus Himself was not a liar. That He was telling the truth when he said that there is no other way to Heaven. He said if you know Him, you know the Father in John 14:7. Jesus is God, He and the Father are one as He tells us plainly “I and my Father are one” in John 10:30.

Jesus is God. His words are true. He died so you could live with Him in Heaven when you die. Do you believe Him or are you going to Hell when you die? This is why God wrote the Bible and has preserved it throughout the generations. He has given us the truth, so we can know how to be saved. Someone shared the truth with me. I now have shared it with you.

I hope this message finds open minded hearts. No religion will ever save you. Only Jesus saves…so put your arrogance aside and repent of your sins. We are all sinners. God loved us despite our sin, not because of what we have done to earn His love, but because of who He is. God desires all will accept Him. Are you ready?

I wonder how many people I’ve sat next to in church over the years will just pass over this message, but won’t end up in Heaven? I wonder how many will share this message? I wonder how many will consider it and then pray to God to make sure they are saved? If you’re reading this message now, consider this question one more time, where will you go when you die? I wonder how you will answer that question once and for all, the day you stand before Jesus. I know I am saved because Jesus died for me. I put my trust in Him and Him alone. God is good! He saved my soul.