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7MAY 2015BODY OF CHRIST NEWS Being confident of this very thing that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ Philippians 16 The apostle Paul tells us that there is so much more beyond the mere matter of salvation. For sure salvation is a biggy it is essential for eternal life but unless we can recognize that God has more in mind for us this Christian life in the present can become ever so ordinary and powerless. If we are to remain excited and vital- ized in our Christian walk there needs to be a continual looking forward to what God is going to do in you to you and through you in this life. Giving your life to Christ joining a church and finding a place to serve are only the foundation for the abundant blessings that God has in mind for you. Because of who he is and because of who you are in him you ought to expect that God is going to bless you in numerous and bountiful ways. Because of the relationship you have as a child of God you ought to expect that your father is going to bless your life give you the things you desire consistent with his will and enable you to see his power confirmed in your life. There are blessings associated with being in relationship with God that we need to appropriate in our daily lives. God desires to not only save you but to see his grace abound in every area of your life as well. I dont know about you but I want and need some things from God. As we lay a foundation let us consider WE NEED TO BE CONFIDENT ABOUT GOD vs. 6a Too many of us want God to reveal every aspect of the future rather than trusting him along the way. That kind of thinking and expectation is contrary to the circumstance of life. The only way to be confident of what God has promised to do in our lives is to know what he has promised and believe that we can acquire it by faith. Faith is about the confidence that we have in God our confidence to embrace the challenges of every day. Confidence that if we answer the call to step out into some new venture that God will not let us drown but like he did with Peter when he attempted to walk on water extend to us a saving hand. Confidence that the present disrup- tions in our lives are not permanent situations but only temporary chal- lenges. Confidence that God will not allow our hard work to go unnoticed. Confidence that truly all things do work together for the good. Confidence comes experientially as we daily deal with God and experience his sover- eign control over our lives. Confidence comes as we learn to read Gods Word and take him at his word for the future. If we are going to activate the power of God in our lives we must be confi- dent that God is the one who really has the power. If we are unsure we will be timid with life and miss opportunities to see God do great things. WE NEED TO BELIEVE THAT GOD HAS BEGUN A GOOD WORK IN US. vs. 6a b Some of you feel or are spiritually powerless because you are not getting from God what you need materially or spiritually. In spite of how you feel you need to understand that God has begun a good work in you. It is a good work because it is Gods work in us through all lifes stages. Although God has begun a good work in us we must allow that good work to continue in us. It is possible for us to suppress to diminish what God has started by being spiritually compla- cent. Some of us have recognized and obtained Gods material blessings in our lives but we still feel spiritually inadequate. Some of us feel as if we are not being fed when we come to church. Oftentimes we attribute that feeling to the preaching to the singing to the lack of friendliness of the church and other factors outside ourselves. However sometimes this feeling is reflective of our not having a sense of mission and destiny as to being a child of God and not knowing how we fit into the family of God. Sometimes it means that we are lacking in our own spiritual depth and growth and need to make a further effort to increase our biblical knowl- edge and understanding. Some of us have grown too comfortable spiritu- ally in where we are and what we are doing and like a job that is no longer challenging we are just marking time. God wants you to experience his power and blessings in new and abun- dant ways. Our unrest our hunger is oftentimes nothing more than God prodding us to make a change and break out of our comfortable mold make new relationships seek new spir- itual adventures and broaden our spir- itual horizons. Recognize that spiritual hunger and unrest are often the desire of God to continue to bless our lives. Scripture indicates that God wants to bless us beyond just saving us Psalm 374 Romans 832 Matthew 633 John 1010. It is evident that God desires to do good to us. All throughout Scripture we see that those who were in good standing with God were the recipients of his divine blessings and those who were not were recipients of his wrath. As a Christian in good standing in fellowship with God we have not only been saved jus- tified sanctified redeemed reconciled etc. but each of us has received mani- fold blessings. God wants to bless us. We have received a great inheritance in Jesus Christ. Not just one to be claimed in eternity but God wants to give us a part of our inheritance now. Not just pie in the sky by and by but down here on the ground while we are still around. Whether we feel or are not getting from God what we need materially or spiritually we need to remember that God has begun a good work in us. He has promised us the presence and power of the Holy Spirit that we might live abundant lives in this world. WE NEED TO REMEMBER THERE IS A RECKONING DAY vs. 6a-b The matter that God blesses those who are both in and out of relation- ship with him can be quite confusing. Matthew 545 NKJV tells us that both those in and out of relationship with him receive blessings He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. Although we may not see it we can be assured that those who live apart from a faith and commitment to God will receive their just reward. The unrighteous shall not always prosper. We cannot just live any kind of way and expect that God will bless. We may be blessed for the moment but understand that God always settles his accounts. One of the problems with the nation of Israel was when God prospered them they fell away and thought that they had no need for God. They became self-sufficient and when a people or a person does that God will allow them to do their own thing but recognize that there is a reckoning day. Nowhere in Scripture is there an account of any- one that neglected their relationship with God and ultimately did not have a reckoning day. No mat- ter what our level of wealth education success if we live apart from God there is a reckoning day. Many of us fail to perceive the need to be in an obedient relationship beyond the matter of salvation. When we are in an obedient and committed rela- tionship with God we have his favor. Moreover when we have the favor of God we have everything that we need. Proverbs 1127 NKJV declares. He who earnestly seeks good finds favor But trouble will come to him who seeks evil. Favor is the special affection of God toward us that releases an influ- ence on us so that others are inclined to like us or to cooperate with us. God will ultimately bring good to those who are in obedient relationship with him Psalm 374 5. We are all a work in process. It sometimes appears that things are out of order in our lives. Sometimes things are really a mess. Sometimes it appears that the bottom is falling out our box and that all we have saved invested and acquired will be lost. No matter what our situation we need to understand that God is not through with us yet. He has begun a work in us and he will not finish it until our appoint- ed days are complete or Christ comes again. God will complete what he has begun in us. In other words we were never designed to be self- sufficient for we live move and have our being under the all sufficiency of the Creator who completes what he begins. When God begins a work he means to finish it. God has begun his work in the lives of his people. He has not begun something good in our lives to let it die. He has not picked us up to drop us. He has not adopted us to abandon us. So dont give up dont quit. No matter how disorganized things may seem in your life God is not through with you yet. William T. Golson Jr. MDiv is pastor at True Light Baptist Church. By Rev. William T. Golson Jr. William T. Golson Jr. Beyond Salvation SERMON Help Me To Become Miss Colorado 2015 Miss Janai Alicia DeDiemar age 17 has been chosen as a State Finalist in the National American Miss Colorado Pageant to be held June 7th 8th at the beauti- ful Marriott Denver Tech Center in Denver. Janai is the daughter of Mari Washington and Jonathan DeDiemar of Aurora and the grand-daughter of Pastors Larry and Deborah Washington of Consolation Christian Church. Janai is competing to win the title of Miss Colorado and will represent Colorado in the National Pageant in California Disneyland. Miss Janai Alicia DeDiemars activities include Private First Class in the Douglas County Young Marines AVID Vice President FBLA and Girls Leadership Club. She also enjoys basketball running cooking shopping and community service. She was the 2nd Runner Up in the 2014 Miss Juneteenth Pageant. Janai has a Go Fund Me page at www.gofundme.comouppik and is asking for sponsors and donations for her Pageant fee. If you would like to sponsor her or submit an Ad or business card from your busi- ness that will go into the 2015 NAM Yearbook please contact her mother Mari Washington at washingtonmariyahoo.com. I want to thank you in advance. GOD BLESS