Love God in return

For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died; and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again. (2 Corinthians 5:14-15)

• We can’t earn God’s love and grace.
   
• But God has lavished them on us.
   
• We can only love Him in return, by living for Him.
   
• This includes drawing near to Him, listening to His Word, serving Him, and obeying Him out of gratitude and love.
   
• As debtors, we are called to live each day for Jesus who gave Himself for us.
   
• Those who know God’s grace show God’s grace.

Can We Be Sure of Our Eternal Safety?

That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. (Romans 10:9)

• Can we be absolutely sure in this life of eternal safety?
   
• Yes.
   
• We can be absolutely sure now of our eternal life in the Home that Jesus went to prepare.
   
• Let us carefully and prayerfully read John 3:16 and Romans 10:9-10.
   
• We must believe in the finished work of Christ for us.
   
• We must trust by God’s grace to meet us in that Home of which He said, “I go to prepare a place for you.”
   
• We must be confident that in this life we can have assurance of eternal safety.
   
• Consider what John 3:16 and Romans 10:9-10 mean for our eternal destiny.
   
• God desires to give us the confidence that our sin is forgiven.
   
• God desires that after death we will be with Him forever.
   
• Lives rooted in God’s unchanging grace can never be uprooted.

God's Wonderful Provision

So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. (Matthew 6:28-29)

• Some cities and countries are often seen busy preparing festivals to welcome the spring flowers.
   
• Flowers often remind us that summer is on the way and with it will come even more flowers to delight our eyes.
   
• Flowers are also wonderful reminders of the grace of God in our lives.
   
• Our Lord used the lilies of the field to remind us of the provision of our heavenly Father.
   
• In His great Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said, “Consider the lilies of the field . . . ; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. . . . Will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?” (Matt. 6:28-30).
   
• Flowers alert us to the end of winter and the beginning of spring.
   
• They also remind us of the gracious God upon whom we can depend to provide food, clothing, and shelter.
   
• In trees and flowers of the field, in creatures large and small, we trace the watchful care of Him Who planned and made them all.
   
• If Jesus is concerned about flowers and birds, He certainly cares about us.
  
  

Pray For Our Loved Ones

But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, (Matthew 5:44)

• Many of our brothers and sisters around the world suffer persecution.
   
• They live in danger every day simply because they love Jesus and want others to know Him too.
   
• But there is another form of persecution.
   
• It may not be life-threatening, but it is heartbreaking.
   
• It is the persecution from our non-Christian family members.
   
• When our loved ones ridicule our faith and mock us for what we believe and how we express our love for God, we feel rejected and unloved.
   
• “All who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution” (2 Tim. 3:12).
   
• And rejection will come from those we love too (Matt. 10:34-36).
   
• When the people we love reject the God we love, the rejection feels personal.
   
• Jesus told us to pray for those who persecute us (Matt. 5:44).
   
• That includes more than strangers who hate us.
   
• God is able to give us grace to persevere through persecution, even from our love ones.
   
• They may mock our message.
   
• But they can’t stop our prayers for them.
   
• And we will pray earnestly for them.