GOSPEL NUGGET #288

Jer 23:6 ...THE LORD (referring to the Lord Jesus) OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.

Picture this in your mind:

In front of us is a huge weighing scale. It is the weighing scale of God. God declares: "I will only accept people who will weigh a perfect 100." 
Righteousness means conformity to a standard. God's standard is a perfect 100. 

So we mounted the scale (you first) and then your heart sank when the scale returned a negative 30! I then followed and ascended the scale. To my dismay, it returned a negative 100! Yours is bad, but mine is worse.

As we were walking outside with our heads down, a Man named Jesus approached us and ask: "What's wrong?" With deep sadness and sorrow in our hearts, we replied: "God only accepts people who have a perfect 100. We cannot meet His standard. We are way down!"

Then He beckoned us to come and follow Him back to the house. He made His way to the weighing scale and stood there. To our awe and amazement, the scaled returned a perfect 100!

Then He turned around and said: "You know, I am your Substitute and Representative. My perfect 100 could be your perfect 100, if you trust and rely on Me."

And so trusting in Him, His perfect 100 became our perfect 100. And then God said: "I accept you because of Christ Jesus' perfect 100."

And we humbly bowed our heads and confessed: "We are nothing but unworthy sinners. We don't have a righteousness of our own that God could accept. Our righteous deeds are filthy rags in His eyes. But we have Christ Jesus OUR righteousness. A righteousness that God will never ever reject."

Are you counting on who you are or are you counting on Christ Jesus for God to accept you? He is the Way, the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father (accepted by God) except through Him.

GOSPEL NUGGET #287

Who's The Savior? You Or Jesus?

So long as you don't humble yourself, to see yourself as a sinner, worthy of God's just judgment, helpless and unable to save yourself, you will never truly see your need of the Savior and appreciate what He did on the cross.

You will always turn inward and find satisfaction in yourself, in your religiosity, in your philanthropy, in your performance etc. Your reliance will always be in these things and not in the Savior and His mighty saving work on the cross.

The language of your heart will always be: "I will be saved and go to heaven because of the kind of person I am and the things that I did and am doing," instead of "I will be with God and enjoy Him forever because of the Lord Jesus Christ and what He did for me on the cross."

If you can save yourself, then you don't truly need a Savior. But if you can't save yourself at all, not even a slightest bit, then you do need the Savior 100%.

According to the Bible, our condition is the latter and not the former. We are in bad shape, we need the Savior. And so, I urge you to rely on Him and what He did and be saved.

GOSPEL NUGGET #286

A Devastated City And Salvation

You are in a devastated city, a virtual ghost town. Alone, afraid, helpless, weak and needy, you trudge your way wearily through its streets, with a biting hunger in your stomach and a drought inside your mouth.

Each step is a march towards the grave if no help comes. Suddenly, out from a clear blue sky, a chopper appears with a red cross on it. Help has come.

You frantically waved your hands with all the strength that's left in you. The helicopter descended in your direction and you are saved out of a sure death.

This is a picture of salvation. We are in this world, a spiritually devastated place, ravaged by the strong winds of sin and the surges of depravity. Spiritually, we can do nothing to save ourselves. Sure eternal death, separation from God forever, awaits us. Help must come.

But out from heaven, the Son of God came and died on the cross and resurrected, mighty to save anyone who will trust in Him and what He did on the cross.

The Bible says: "whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved." Romans 10:13

Whoever calls upon the Lord Jesus, trusting in Him alone and what He did on the cross, shall be saved. Will you call on Him?

GOSPEL NUGGET #285

The Coming Worldwide Super Typhoon

Jer 23:19 Behold, the storm of the LORD! Wrath has gone forth, a whirling tempest; it will burst upon the head of the wicked.
Ps 55:8 I would hasten my escape From the windy storm and tempest.
Ps 62:2 He only is my rock and my salvation; He is my defense; I shall not be greatly moved.

There is a coming worldwide super typhoon! It is the typhoon of the wrath and judgment of God. It will fall against those who are unrepentant.

Hasten and escape from it! "Flee from the wrath to come!"

Our only hope is the Rock of salvation---the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the sinner's only stable rock and salvation and the ever reliable defense against it. Those who trust in Him and what He did on the cross shall never be greatly moved. They will be saved and safe from it.

GOSPEL NUGGET #284

GOSPEL NUGGETS 

Aspects Of Salvation Forgiveness

* Its Basis: The blood of Christ shed on the cross. "…without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness." Heb 9:22 

* Its Reception: It is received by faith, when we put our trust in Christ and what He did on the cross. “Of Him all the prophets bear witness that through His name everyone who BELIEVES (trusts) in Him receives forgiveness of sins.” Acts 10:43

* Its Extent: It encompasses all sins. "...forgiven us (those who have repented and trusted in Christ) ALL our transgressions..." Colossians 2:13

* Its Manner: It is done graciously and freely as an undeserved favor. “When they were unable to repay, he GRACIOUSLY forgave them both." Luke 7:42

* Its Certainty: How can we be sure that if we put our trust in Christ and what He did on the cross we will be forgiven? It is guaranteed by the surest thing in the world---the very Word of God Himself.

* Its Effects:

a) It produces happiness and joy. Psalm 32 speaks of the blessedness, the happiness and the joy of a man whose sins, transgressions and iniquity are forgiven.
b) It produces love towards God. Luke 7:40-43 illustrates the expected result in the one who has received forgiveness. It produces love towards the one whom we have received forgiveness from.
c) It produces reverence or fear towards God. "But there is forgiveness with You, That You may be feared." Psalm 130:4

GOSPEL NUGGET # 283

The Human Fly And The Spider's Web (A True Story)

In the 1920's and 30's, there were people who presented themselves as human flies. They were men who actually did incredible stunts. They would climb tall buildings using their bare hands without any tools and implements whatsoever.

One time one of these men performed in front of a large crowd. Breathlessly, people watched him skillfully move up the building. He would go from one ledge to another. He would reach out for something, and then for another, as he gradually pulled himself up one story higher above another.

On a certain window ledge, he stood for a moment, looking for something solid to grab hold of. Then he saw this jutting piece of stone on one part of the building. After examining it, he then leaped forward in order to take hold of it. But to the horror and shock of the crowd, he fell down...down...down to his death.

When the police hurried to his side, they found in his hand a spider's web. What he thought as gray stone was actually a spider's web.

You know, many people today are like that man. When it comes to the salvation of their souls, they are depending on a "spider's web." They believe that their morality, their religiosity and their philanthropy are enough to hold them up and save them.

They are putting their whole trust and confidence in what they do for God to save them, instead of what God has done for them in Christ at Calvary. They do not know that none of these will work. They will be fatally disappointed and suffer an eternal fall.

Salvation is only found in the solid Rock, the Lord Jesus Christ. He died for our sins and resurrected, and anyone who leans on Him, trusts in Him for salvation will be saved.

Lean on God's solid Rock and not on your spider's web.  

GOSPEL NUGGET # 282

Earthquakes, False And Genuine Repentance

False Repentance---It is when an earthquake takes place, and for fear of divine judgment (That's all. Nothing more, nothing less and nothing else), you suddenly become religious and do other things to appease God.

When the threat subsides, when the earthquake and the aftershocks pass away, you then gradually revert back to what you were before.

You are only fooling yourself, not God. God knew all along that yours was a false kind of repentance. The reason why you're not dead now is because God gave you another chance to do it again, this time genuinely.

Genuine Repentance---It is when an earthquake takes place, and for fear of divine judgment, you change your attitude towards God, you now take Him seriously, you now hate sin and revere God because God is God.

It matures and develops to a point that even if the threat subsides, even when the earthquake and the aftershocks pass away, even if there is no bliss of heaven or the threat of punishment in hell, you turn away from sin because God is God and He hates sin.

And you turn to Christ and trusts in Him alone and what He did on the cross for salvation.