BREAKING
NEW GROUND AND ESTABLISHING NEW STANDARDS
JOIN US IN THE PASTOR'S
STUDY
A SPECIAL THOUGHT FOR YOU TODAY
From Pastors Bill and Janae Cooksey
Romans, chapter 1:7:16
7: To all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and Peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.
8: First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world.
9: For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the Gospel of His Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers;
10: Making request, if by any means now at length might have a prosperous journey by the will of God to come unto you.
11: For I long to see you, that I may impart unto you some spiritual gift, to the end ye may be established; That is, that I may be comforted together with you by the mutual faith both of you and me.
13: Now I would not have you ignorant, Brethren, that oftentimes I purposed to come unto you, (but was let hitherto,) that I might have some fruit among you also, even as among other Gentiles.
14: I am debtor both to the Greeks, and to the Barbarians; both to the wise, and to the unwise.
15: So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the Gospel to you that are at Rome also.
16: For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto Salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.
This is the thought we would like to share with you today. What if you were so on fire for the Lord that everywhere you went you couldn't hold back from telling people about Jesus Christ? And when ungodly people, employees or employers, government officials and all in charge come against you, what if you had such spiritual strength that you could count it all joy in serving our Lord? What if you could think of it as spiritual gain so that your mouth continued to confess Jesus Christ even if they put you in prison over and over? Would you be able to write a letter of encouragement to people whom you know you led to the Lord and who were looking to you for advice in walking the walk and prayer for strength? Would you be able to continue giving the example and living the life so they could find no fault in you? Would you have the courage of Paul?
Could you write a letter similar to this?
To all believers who are called to follow after Christ as saints, may Grace and Peace from God be upon you which comes from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ.
First, I thank God that the whole world speaks of your faith. But know this: I cannot thank God for anything unless I do it through Jesus Christ because He is the only reason I can go before God.
I serve God with my spirit. I serve Him in proclaiming the Gospel of His Son. I do not cease in making mention of you always when I pray. Of all this, God is my witness.
And now I make my request before God that I might be able by His will to come to you although the journey is long. I pray also that God will prosper the journey and endorse it by His will.
I really want to see you that you may receive some spiritual uplifting from me as receiving a gift and be more established in your Christian walk. I also want to see you that I may be comforted with you, and you with me, that together our faith will be bonded and strengthened as we encourage one another in our daily walk.
It's been quite often that I have tried to take this long journey to come to you but I was led in other directions and distracted from doing so by the will of God so that I might have some fruit among you also as among those believers outside our immediate group. Don't be ignorant of this fact. Understand it and be aware. There's been good reason why I haven't come to you before now.
You see, I am the one selected by God to be the debtor. The Greeks, Barbarians, wise and unwise all come to me and expect to hear the Gospel. They put themselves in spiritual debt to me and I am in control, under God of course, so that what I say and how I live makes a difference to how they live and speak. I am, so to say, in charge of their souls before God. If I lead them away from God I will be accountable because He has sent them to me and has put in their hearts that they are in debt, spiritually, to me.
So you see, with all that is in me, I am ready to preach the Gospel everywhere I go and to you who are living in that special city I so long to journey to.
I am not ashamed of the Gospel I preach which is the Gospel of Jesus Christ because it is the power of God and that power is saving power to everyone who believes, first to the Jewish people and then to the rest of the entire world. Just so you know for sure what I am speaking of, saving power is the power which causes your heart to cry out to God until you accept Him. It is the power unto Salvation. It is powerful enough to snatch your soul from hell.