The Christian Alphabet
A-Admit that you are a sinner.-Romans 3:23 ”for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, “ Paul realized who he was, and who we all are and until we realize the lost condition we are in we can never realize that we need God’s help.
B-Believe that Jesus is God’s Son, and He gave His life for you.-John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” God provided the only help we need, and it is only because of Jesus’ sacrifice that we can reach for the help we need.
C-Confess that He is your Lord and Savior-Romans 10:9 “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. “ That’s it!!!!!!!!! There is nothing we can do or say that will earn the FREE gift of grace that was offered by Jesus.(John 14:6, Acts 4:12)
If we stop there we might make it to Heaven, but it will be by “the skin of our teeth”. There is so much more than the ABC’s to LIVING THE LIFE OF A CHRIST FOLLOWER.
D-Determine to do God’s will-Luke 9:51 “Now it came to pass, when the time had come for Him to be received up, that He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem, “ I get this image in my mind that as Jesus got “the look” in His eyes, and He was going to do God’s will come heck or high water. As believers we need that same mindset(Php. 2:5)
E-Evangelize the lost-Matthew-28:19-20 “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen. We sometimes get scared when we hear the word evangelize. It simply means to preach(or share) the Good News. We say; I’m not educated…all you need is an education from the Holy Spirit.
F-Forfeit your life to God’s will-Romans 14:8 “For if we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s. “ I once read about Dr. David Livingstone. Dr. Livingstone gave up a successful medical practice in England to follow God’s will and serve as a missionary in Africa. Dr Livingstone was asked many times about the sacrifice he made. He answered the question by saying, “People talk of the sacrifice I have made by spending so much time in Africa. Can that be called a sacrifice which is simply paying back a small part of a great debt owing to our God which we can never repay? Is that a sacrifice which brings its own best good…?Away with the word in such a view and such a thought. It is emphatically no sacrifice. Say rather it is a privilege.” As Christians we must stop talking about our sacrifices, and begin concentrating on the glories that await us.
G-Grow in your knowledge and wisdom from God-2 Chronicles 1:10 “Now give me wisdom and knowledge, that I may go out and come in before this people; for who can judge this great people of Yours?” We must seek the wisdom of God if we are ever to be a witness for Him. James 1:5 We can take all the schooling in the world and get the best, most up-to-date knowledge that the world has, but without Godly wisdom it means nothing.
H-Hear God’s message-Matthew 11:15 “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!” How often do we come to church just to hear what the preacher or Sunday school teacher has to say, or to hear the latest gossip. If that’s why you’re coming then you might as well not go. We must always expect to hear a word from God.
I-Internalize the Word-Psalm119:11 “Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You! “Every year in Vacation Bible School we say the pledge to the Bible, and a memory verse. But, as adults we tend to think that memorizing Scripture is beneath us. HOGWASH!!! We need the protection of God that comes from the Scriptures just like the little children.
J-Be joyful in God-Matthew 28:8-9 “So they went out quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to bring His disciples word. And as they went to tell His disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, “Rejoice!” So they came and held Him by the feet and worshiped Him.“ One of my biggest “pet peeves” is a Christian who lives his/her life in defeat mode. I’ve read the last chapter in the last book, and I know a secret “WE WIN!!!!!!” So be joyful here on earth because the war is over!
K-Know God’s will for your life-Colossians 1:9-11 “For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy;” God has a will for your life that is different than His will for my life, but you MUST get alone with Him to discover it.
L-Love God and other people-Matthew 22:37-40 “Jesus said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.‘ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.” I believe scripture teaches that unless you have love in your heart for your fellow man then you have a nothing!!!!!!!!(I Cor. 13)
M-Multiply the Kingdom of God-I Corinthians 10:31-33 “Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. Give no offense, either to the Jews or to the Greeks or to the church of God, just as I also please all men in all things, not seeking my own profit, but the profit of many, that they may be saved. “ We looked at earlier the Great Commission, and we see that we were commanded by Jesus to reach a lost world. These verses reinforce what those Scriptures say by reminding us that we should always/in everything try to bring people to Christ.
N-Neglect our will for God’s-Romans 12: 2 “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” Neglect has gotten s bad rep. in our modern English vernacular. Neglect is and can be bad, but it can also mean good things. It all depends on what we neglect.
O-Obey what God tells you-John 15:10 “If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.” Obedience is a hard pill for some people to swallow, but obedience is one of the most important things for a Christian. Unless we obey we cannot bear fruit, and if we have no fruit then how can we say that we truly believe.
P-Persevere for the glory of God-John 16:33 “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” Jesus promised us that we would have problems if we follow Him. I like to paraphrase this verse like this, “Buckle up your seat belts. We’re gonna have a little turbulence, but this craft was created to handle the rough stuff.”
Q-Be quiet before God-Psalm 107:30 “Then they are glad because they are quiet; So He guides them to their desired haven.”
R-Respond to God’s message–Matthew 19:20-22 “The young man said to Him, ‘All these things I have kept from my youth. What do I still lack?’ Jesus said to him, ‘If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.’ But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.” This young man, like all of us, was given a choice between life and death. Like him we must all choose, PLEASE make the wise choice.
S-Submit to God’s plan-Psalm 66:2-3 “Sing out the honor of His name; Make His praise glorious. Say to God, “How awesome are Your works! Through the greatness of Your power Your enemies shall submit themselves to You. “The Bible says that we were all enemies of God before Christ, but when we submit to Him then it is our pleasure to do His will.
T-Teach other about God’s love-I Timothy 4:11 “These things command and teach.” We have been saved by grace through faith, and we are commanded here and many other Scriptures to teach and show others about the grace of God.
U-Understand God’s message for you-Isaiah 6:9 “And He said, ‘Go, and tell this people: ‘Keep on hearing, but do not understand; Keep on seeing, but do not perceive.’“ Before we can teach others about God’s love we must first “get it” ourselves. Now, we will never fully understand the love of God, but we must understand what His message is.
V-Be victorious in Jesus-I Corinthians 15:57 “But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Like I said earlier we have already won the war, so should live a life victorious for Him. “Victory in Jesus”
W-Witness to others about God’s work in your life-Acts 1:8 ”But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” God asked us to be witnesses for Him, not professors. Everyone does not have the opportunity to get a Doctorate in Theology or to spend 8 hours a day studying Hebrew, Greek or eschatology. But, we can all share our own story of God’s grace, and no one can argue/disagree with that.
X-Examine our hearts-I Corinthians 11:28 “But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup..” As Christians we do a GREAT job examining other people, and pointing out their flaws, but we have a blind spot when it comes to ourselves. Remember what Jesus told Peter in John 21:21-22(My paraphrase), “Don’t worry about anybody but yourself. You just follow me.” We need to quit worrying about Brother Bob or Sister Sue, and look after our own business.
Y-Yearn after God-Nehemiah 1:11 “O Lord, I pray, please let Your ear be attentive to the prayer of Your servant, and to the prayer of Your servants who desire to fear Your name;” Nehemiah loved God and had a great desire to bring God honor. The dictionary defines yearn in this way: to long for: to want somebody or something very much, often with a feeling of sadness because of the difficulty or impossibility of fulfilling the desire.
Z-Be zealous to experience God’s love-Psalm 69:9 “Because zeal for Your house has eaten me up, “ The dictionary defines zeal in this way: enthusiasm: energetic and unflagging enthusiasm, especially for a cause or idea. Do you like David have an enthusiastic energy for God. Do you love to come to church? Psalm 122:1 says:” I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go into the house of the Lord.” Do you desire to tell the story? Jeremiah 20:9 ‘Then I said, “I will not make mention of Him, Nor speak anymore in His name.” But His word was in my heart like a burning fire Shut up in my bones; I was weary of holding it back, And I could not.’
Yes, You Can Ministry 