WALKING IN THE LIGHT OF THE FOOTSTEPS OF JESUS

 Message by Pastor Jerry on March 2, 2025                                                                                 

 When we study the Bible; when we give more than a casual attention to God’s Word, we will discover a foundational truth to which God is calling us. God has chosen us CHOSEN US to STIR UP, TO STEP UP, to DIG DEEP!  SEEKING, SEEKING, SEEKING SCRIPTURAL TRUTH!  --- In a revelation of who God really is and to walk in the light that He has provided for us!

This is a wake-up call… In 1 Thessalonians 4:13 the Apostle Paul says, “I would not have you ignorant…”

1 Timothy 2:15 says, “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that need not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”

Hebrews 2:9 says, “How shall we escape if we ignore so great a salvation?”

THIS JOURNEY – THIS WALK – THIS BORN-AGAIN EXPERIENCE is called “a so great a salvation.” We cannot afford to neglect “this so great a salvation!”                                                                 

Think back… As new converts, the early days of our seeking God, of seeking Jesus, of seeking the Holy Spirit we all started some type of investigating of what the truth was, what the truth is and what the truth will always be. And we told people that we were studying the Bible only to find out that THE WORD OF GOD WAS STUDYING US! 

 The more biblical truth we received, THE MORE WE SOUGHT! We knew that we had to study – SEEK, SEEK, SEEK!  We realized that we could not hold back; we knew that we had to have INTIMATE KNOWLEDGE.  We recognized that we were in days of training. SEEK! SEEK! SEEK! We knew that this truly was a “so great a salvation,” and that God, the Father was its author; and that JESUS PAID A DEBT WE OWED BUT COULD NOT PAY!

We celebrated that GOD CHOSE US!  And we discovered that He had included many GIFTS for His children – empowerment gifts that came through the Holy Spirit.  And we welcomed those empowerment gifts given to us, so that we could be accurate witnesses of everything that Jesus did – everything that God orchestrated for us.

During those first days of our journey, we gathered in unforgettable times of worship, prayer, praise and celebration!  We lifted our voices and hearts to King Jesus! We introduced family, friends, neighbors because that was what the God desired purpose.

And some of us have to admit that when we continued our scriptural seeking, we discovered a disturbing truth, a challenging truth - WE HAD AN ADVERSARY who sought to harm, steal and even kill us. 

We learned in other bible study that WE ARE ENROLLED IN GOD’S ARMY and a soldier of the Lord.  We had to walk the walk, and we truly desired to talk the talk.  Our walk is in the light of Jesus! Jesus is the Light of the world (John 8:12). In Genesis 1: 3 God said, “Let there be light” (a revelation of Jesus)!

But we must realize this truth… Though we walk in the light, there is still some darkness around us. In the light we have discernment, and we recognize voices of opposing challenges to our faith in God and His Son, Jesus and the Comforter, the Holy Spirit.

We now come to some key points…

·       God is taking us forward; He is doing new things. They are being revealed now by the Holy Spirit, who is ready to guide us further revelation!

·       And God’s love will give us the courage to follow the purposes and plans of God. 

·       The Holy Spirit is pouring out wisdom, giving us discernment to overcome the shifting shadows of any darkness.

The Lord is calling us to CHART A COURSE. – TO WALK DEEPER IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF JESUS!

We are heading towards the Easter Resurrection time. Each Sunday we will seek Jesus and His love that never dims; and God’s love that never fails; and the empowerment gifting of the Holy Spirit, who gives wisdom, understanding and discernment!

Let’s commence our walk to Calvary’s Hill by first reviewing truths about the Holy Spirit…

-       Remember, Jesus told His disciples not to do anything without the infilling of the Holy Spirit. (Acts 1:8)

-       The Holy Spirit is called our Comforter who gives good gifts. (John 14:16)

-       The Holy Spirit exalts Jesus. (John 16:13)

-       The Holy Spirit empowers you to broadcast the truth about God’s Word – to proclaim the good news of salvation. (Acts 1:8)

Yes, our mindset at Hope Centre Family Church is to know God and to make Him known and that can only be done through partnership with the Holy Spirit. We must deepen our commitment to partnership with the Holy Spirit. 

The Holy Spirit wants to remind us that God is a God of restoration. We all originally needed restoration of what was lost in Adam and Eve’s disobedience. That is the reason Jesus came – that’s the “so great a salvation.” But it is not just accepting Jesus, it is the full revelation of our born-again experience.

During the next few Sundays, we will learn more as we walk with Jesus to Calvary’s Hill; remembering God’s unwavering Promise to consistently renew and restore us.  It was prophesied in Joel 2:25-27 that God promises to repay us for those lost years when we didn’t understand and to fill our lives with abundance and remove our shame, heal our wounds and mend broken relationships.   He touches every aspect of our life – wherever we are!