Every Christian MUST do these 3 things!
Hi, this is Dustin with Hope Through Prophecy.
On this channel, we help you better understand Bible Prophecy, and be prepared for the soon
return of Jesus.
There are 3 things that are absolutely essential for every Christian.
Falling short in just one of these areas can cost you your eternal life.
Just like air, exercise, and food are necessary for the physical life, these 3 activities
are indispensable for the spiritual life.
And did you know that the sanctuary, God’s blueprint for the plan of salvation, actually
reveals these 3 activities?
Later in this video, we will discuss this.
So, what are these 3 things?
1.
Prayer Just as a person cannot live without air,
the Christian simply cannot survive with prayer.
Prayer is the lifeblood for the soul.
The Bible gives the clear admonition: Pray without ceasing.
What’s more, we can pray with boldness and confidence!
Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to
His will, He hears us.
As we look at Jesus, our example in all things, we see a powerful life fueled by prayer and
constant reliance on the Father.
In THIS verse, we see that Jesus made prayer such a priority in His life, that He rose
early in the morning and prayed before the trials of the day began:
And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into
a solitary place, and there prayed.
Friends, if JESUS saw the need for consistent prayer, how important should it be to us?
There are several practical steps that you can take to make prayer a part of your life.
-It’s good to have consistent times each day where you spend time in private prayer
– first thing in the morning, then maybe around noon time, and before you go to bed.
This consistency will help you in your quest to grow closer to God and transform your spiritual
life.
It’s also important to keep the prayer channel between you and God open throughout the day.
You can pray at any time - while working, walking, or even as you drive.
Your eyes don’t always have to be closed when you pray 😊
The Bible gives several principles that we must follow to have our prayers heard.
For one, we must turn from all our sins.
That is, we must confess and forsake them.
King David says If I regard iniquity in my heart, The Lord
will not hear.
Secondly, we must pray with faith, believing that God has the power to answer our prayer,
and WILL answer it according to His will: Therefore I say to you, whatever things you
ask when you pray, BELIEVE that you receive them, and you will have them.
But we must remember that God does not always answer our prayers WHEN we want, or HOW we
want – but He knows exactly what is best for us.
Some people may not know how to pray.
There is really no set form that we must follow, but here is prayer structure that may be helpful
to you – it’s the acronym ACTS – which stands for
A – Adoration – begin your prayer with praising God - how mighty and powerful He
is.
You may even choose to list great works He has done in the past for you and others throughout
history.
C – Confession – confess any sins that you are aware of, and even ask forgiveness
for your sins that you may NOT be aware of.
T – Thanksgiving – Thank the Lord for all the blessings He has given you – and
it’s good to be specific.
S – And finally, Supplication – This is where you ask God for something – whether
that be more faith, the Holy Spirit, wisdom, strength, courage, or something very specific
depending on your own situation.
You may also use this time to pray for others.
It has helped me to have an actual list of all the people and things that I am praying
for.
To conclude your prayer, it is good to pray “In Jesus’ name” which means – according
to the will of Jesus.
Friends, I hope you will make a prayer a major part of your life.
I hope you learn to value prayer like the very air that you breath.
I want to share one final thought on prayer – and that is a powerful passage from the
book Steps to Christ: “Why should the sons and daughters of God
be reluctant to pray, when prayer is the key in the hand of faith to unlock heaven's storehouse,
where are treasured the boundless resources of Omnipotence.”
The next thing that EVERY Christian must do is
2.
Witness Just like the physical body will grow weak
and die without fitness, so the spiritual life will grow weak and die without WITNESS
– sharing our faith.
Witnessing, or sharing the truth of the Bible, forces us to strengthen our knowledge of the
Bible and teaches us to depend more on God – as we pray for those we are witnessing
to.
Notice that Jesus makes witnessing a top priority for the Christian – in fact, He even commands
it: Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing
them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them
to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto
the end of the world.
Amen.
There is nothing more rewarding than bringing someone to Jesus.
Just imagine!
You are standing next to Heaven’s tree of life, and someone that you witnessed to walks
up and says that you helped them get there.
You embrace each other with tears streaming down your face, knowing that you will be in
God’s kingdom together for all of eternity!
The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and he who wins souls is wise.
So you might be saying to yourself – I’m not a preacher, I don’t even know my Bible
that well – how can I be a witness for Jesus?
Friends, there are so many ways.
And God will always empower you to do what he commands you.
For example, you can pass out Christian literature, you can give a weekly Bible study to someone
hungry for truth.
There are simple Bible study guides that contain a series of questions followed by clear Bible
answers.
You can simply ready through the guide with your study contact.
I will provide a link to some studies like this in the description below.
Some have even made business cards with the Hope Through Prophecy YouTube channel that
they share with others.
You can also invite people to a series of public Bible meetings.
In addition to your witnessing efforts, the way you live your life is perhaps the greatest
testimony you can give for Jesus.
Make sure that you are committed to obeying His commandments – this will give your witness
a power that cannot be argued.
Finally, pray for a greater love for souls.
Pray that God would bring people into your path that you can lead to Him.
There is no greater investment you can make for eternity.
A third essential thing that every Christian must do is
3.
Read the Bible As we enter into the Holy Place of the sanctuary,
we see 3 items of furniture.
All symbolic of the great plan of salvation.
We have the altar of incense, representing the prayers of the saints which rise up to
Heaven.
We see the seven-branched candlestick, representing Jesus, the light of the world, and our witness,
which we must let shine before all mankind.
These lamps were fueled by oil – representing the Holy Spirit – and so it is our witness
must be empowered by the Holy Spirit.
Finally, we have the table of showbread, representing not only Jesus, the bread of life, but also
the Word of God.
The Bible says …Man shall not live by bread alone, but
by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.
In the physical world, we will eventually die without food.
In the same way, our Spiritual life will eventually die out without the nourishment of the Bible
– the Holy Word of God.
The Bible provides us the essential knowledge we need to be saved.
It shows us how to properly worship God, and inspires us with faith as we read of God’s
powerful workings throughout history: …then faith comes by hearing, and hearing
by the word of God.
There are several ways to make Bible reading a consistent part of your life.
One, you can take part in our Bible Study Reading Plan.
I have included a link to this free resource in the description of the video, as well as
a link to our Patreon page, where I upload a daily video reflection for that day’s
Bible passage.
Two, you can enroll in a free Bible study course – I have also included a link for
this in the video description.
3.
Some of you may choose to listen to the Bible – there are so many apps and websites that
allow you to do this.
And, before you read or listen, make sure that your heart and mind our prepared.
Ask the Lord to let the Holy Spirit help you understand God’s word, and make sure that
you are willing to actually obey what you learn from the Bible.
An easy way to remember these 3 essential activities for every Christian is this simple
rhyme: Air – Prayer
Fitness - Witness Feed – Read
Just as we should never neglect air, exercise, and food, we must never neglect these 3 things
– prayer, witnessing, and reading the Bible.
Friend, my hope and prayer for all of you is that you incorporate all 3 into your life.
If you commit to this, God will give you the help and strength to do this.
If you would like to decide to make all 3 of these activities a part of your life, with
God’s help, just write in the comment section below:
Lord, I commit my life to you.
Amen.
Here at Hope Through Prophecy, WE are committed to help you on your Christian journey.
To be notified of more practical videos, make sure you are subscribed, with all bell notifications
turned on.
And make sure to check out this video as well – 3 End-Time Deceptions you MUST avoid!
And don’t forget – keep your eyes on Jesus, the Author, and Finisher, of our faith!