Redemption For Everyone

The Little Book That Says It All

Andaza Hezekiah

Good Sense Publications

East St. Paul, Manitoba, Canada

All scripture quotations, except where otherwise indicated, are taken from: The Holy Bible, New King James Version

Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical,

including photocopying, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

Copyright © 2014 Andaza Hezekiah

Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication

Hezekiah, Andaza, 1968-, author

Redemption For Everyone : The Little Book That Says It All / Andaza Hezekiah.

Issued in print and electronic formats.

1. Redemption--Biblical teaching. 2. Trust in God. 3. Faith.

I. Title.

BT775.H45 2014 234'.3

C2014-905719-9

C2014-905720-2

First printing 2014

Printed in Canada

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Published in 2014 by Good Sense Publications

East St. Paul, MB

To Folusho, Faith, Samuel and Philip,

And to all my faithful helpers at the Joy Fountain:

May the oil of joy that you very much exemplify, never cease from your lives.

Introduction

Thank you dear reader for taking time to read this book.

I have carried the burden of writing this book for a while and I have a great deal of joy that it is finally in print.

The inspiration for this book arose out of my surprise of meeting many believers who have been Christians for quite some time, who still have questions about the basic tenets of our faith. Things such as salvation, the Holy Spirit, the end of the world, and such like matters. I felt it was important for me to put together a snapshot of the story of mankind, beginning at Adam and Eve, that would help provide the basic foundation for anyone who shares those questions, and for anyone who will come across Redemption for Everyone.

It is not an exhaustive volume, rather an attempt to provide a simple document for Christians who desire to have a firm understanding of what the scriptures reveal about mankind, sin, Satan, the Holy Spirit and the end of time. It promises to be an easy and yet informational read.

The belief that we are created-beings of an all-powerful creator, God, is a necessary foundation to proceed in this book as that is where it all begins. And even if you hold a different view that is opposed to creation, I believe and hope there is some value for you in exploring what the book has to say.

Be blessed as you read.

Andaza Hezekiah

Founding Pastor

Joy Fountain Church in Winnipeg, Canada

Chapter 1

How we got here

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the Earth, and then He created the light and separated it from darkness. He then created the waters, earth, plants and grass, and then living creatures in the bodies of water and also on the dry earth. He did so all in order.

After creating all this, He formed Adam from the dust of the ground and breathed into him, thereby giving Adam, the very first human being on the planet, spiritual life directly from Himself. Adam was made in God’s image. He created man (Adam and Eve) in His own image (in His nature).

When God breathed into Adam he became a living soul. He became alive with a spirit personality carved out of God’s spirit, along with a central reasoning system. As a result, Man is a being that straddles two worlds. He is a physical being living in the material world, as you and I know it today, but at the same time, a spirit-being with access to the intangible, unseen, but real, spiritual world. We are a created spirit (carved out of God’s spirit) within a body (our vehicle made from the ground or earth) and given a soul (mind or flesh -- where we have our intellect for reasoning and emotional dispositions). It is our mind that engages in disobedience or obedience to God first before it is then carried out by the physical body in one action or an other.

Genesis 1:27-28

“So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. 28 Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

Genesis 2:15-25

“Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to tend and keep it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying,

“Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”

18 And the Lord God said, “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.”

19 Out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to Adam to see what he would call them. And whatever Adam called each living creature, that was its name. 20 So Adam gave names to all cattle, to the birds of the air, and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper comparable to him. 21 And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place. 22 Then the rib which the Lord God had taken from man He made into a woman, and He brought her to the man. 23 And Adam said:

“This is now bone of my bones, And flesh of my flesh; She shall be called Woman, Because she was taken out of Man.”

24 Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. 25 And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.

After Adam was created, God decided to create a befitting companion for Adam. And so, Eve was created and God blessed them and gave them power and dominion over all that He had created. They were given a beautiful home in the Garden of Eden and asked to tend and keep it. They were commanded to increase and multiply (populate the earth with their offspring). God also commanded them not to eat of the tree of good and evil, warning that if they were to eat of the tree they would surely die (their spiritual lives would be totally separated from Him). Adam and Eve enjoyed uninhibited access to Almighty God and fellowship with Him everyday. The supernatural realm (the realm we cannot see with our natural eyes) was natural to them at that time, as there was no boundary between both worlds until after the fall.

Chapter 2

The Fall of Mankind: Temptation in the Garden

In Genesis 3, Adam and Eve were the first family on the planet that God created. They had dominion over all things created and were enjoying fellowship with the Creator.

All this remained, however, until the serpent, possessed by Satan, came into the Garden and engaged Eve in a discussion. Satan deceived Eve into eating fruit from of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. She ate and gave some to her husband, who also ate with her. Suddenly their eyes were opened and they knew they were naked. They immediately covered themselves with leaves. When God came for their daily fellowship in the cool of the day, they hid themselves from Him.

Genesis 3:1-7

Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field, which the Lord God had made.

And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?” 2 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; 3 but of the fruit of the tree, which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’” 4 Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings.

See what happened? After Eve considered the fruit and saw that it was good for food she took it and ate and then gave it to her husband, who also ate. This was rebellion against God, as He commanded that they must not eat the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. The result of their disobedience was that they were driven out from the Garden of Eden.

Genesis 3:10-13

Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?” 10 So he said, “I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I

hid myself.” 11 And He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?” 12 Then the man said, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I

ate.” 13 And the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

Later on in Genesis 5:1-3, we see an ugly dynamic set in place. It is recorded that for the very first time Adam had children in his own likeness.

Genesis 5:1-3

“This is the book of the genealogy of Adam. In the day that God created man, He made him in the likeness of God. 2 He created them male and female, and blessed them and called them Mankind in the day they were created. 3 And Adam lived one hundred and thirty years, and begot a son in his own likeness, after his image, and named him Seth.”

At that time and even today, we are still a far cry from how Adam was created in the image of God. Adam passed to his offspring a fallen nature (spirit being dead to God’s divine nature) and it has been so ever since. This is why Mankind is lost. Our fallen spirits are eternally separated from God, the Father of all spirits, from Whom we came.

In order to proceed it will be helpful to grasp an understanding of the origin of Satan who defrauded Adam and Eve and robbed them of their first estate. How did he become the deceiver and why did he go after Adam and Eve in the first place?

Chapter 3

The Origin of Satan, the Devil

Satan was created as an archangel with the original name Lucifer. Music was formed into him and he was extremely beautiful. The prophets Isaiah, Ezekiel and John were each given very clear revelation as to what happened to him.

Isaiah 14:12-15

“How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the

ground, You who weakened the nations!

13 For you have said in your heart: ‘I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the

stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation on the farthest sides of the north;

14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the Most High.’

15 Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol, To the lowest depths of the Pit.

Revelation 12:7-10

7 And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon

and his angels fought, 8 but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any

longer. 9 So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and satan, who

deceives the whole world; he was cast to the Earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

10 Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! Woe to the inhabitants of the Earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time.”

Ezekiel 28:12-17

12 “Son of man, take up a lamentation for the king of Tyre, and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “You were the seal of perfection, Full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. 13 You were in Eden, the garden of God; Every precious stone was your covering: The sardius, topaz, and diamond, Beryl, onyx, and jasper, Sapphire, turquoise, and emerald with gold. The workmanship of your timbrels and pipes was prepared for you on the day you were created. 14 “You were the anointed cherub who covers; I established you; You were on the holy mountain of God; You walked back and forth in the midst of fiery stones. 15 You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created, Till iniquity was found in you. 16 “By the abundance of your trading You became filled with violence within, and you sinned; Therefore I cast you as a profane thing out of the mountain of God; And I destroyed you, O covering cherub, from the midst of the fiery stones. 17 “Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty;

Satan hates and is jealous of mankind -- that includes you. After Satan lost his place in Heaven as the archangel ministering in musical worship, he was cast down to the Earth and banished from his place in Heaven. He came to Earth with great wrath and has been on a warpath ever since. He knows his fate is sealed as he has “but a short time” and is hell-bent on wreaking havoc upon mankind. His jealousy and hatred stems from the fact that our redemption through faith in Christ’s death and resurrection, places us far over him in power and authority.

Matthew 28:19

And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.

Mark 16:15-17

And He said to them, ”Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. 16 He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. 17 And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues.”

And so Satan deceived Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden and mankind has entered a downward spiral ever since. Let’s examine the effects of The Fall.

Chapter 4

The Effects of the Fall

A fall is a fall. It is to drop from one height to a lower level. People get hurt, sometimes fatally, when they fall. When leaves fall to the ground in the fall season they are not on the trees, they are on the ground. When Adam and Eve sinned they ran to hide behind the trees. This is the principal reason why multitudes of people are slaves to substances that are by-products of trees and leaves, such as alcohol, tobacco and hard drugs like cocaine and other similar substances. We are fallen and so we are irrevocably displaced and subjected to the very things we were meant to have dominion over. Just as Adam and Eve hid behind the trees, mankind has been hiding sorrow, pain, and the feeling of being lost behind these substances for generations ever since.

The fall removed the nature of God, which is love, from within us. Without love as a foundation for our human existence, hatred for each other has flourished, resulting in war and poverty.

Also, because we lost dominion over the Earth, our natural bodies have been subjected to the natural elements of the world, resulting in sickness, disease and a shorter lifespan, multiplying in effect from one generation to the next as population has increased. All of this was and still is further compounded by the change in our eating habits from plants to a heavy dependence on meat.

Our spirits were separated from God from the time of our great, great, great grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Adam. Our human spirit has been forever lost and unable to lead our mind in obeying God. We are unable to willingly obey God.

In our fallen state, the only way we would obey God is if we were forced by Him in a show of His power. However, this would be contrary to God’s original purpose for creating us, which was for a relationship and fellowship based on love.

1 John 1:3

“That which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.

How does mankind return to the original place of fellowship with the Creator? What is the solution to this eternal nagging spiritual problem? The next chapter reveals the solution: The Path of Redemption.

Chapter 5

The Path of Redemption

We have established that after the fall, man became permanently separated from God by an everlasting, spiritual chasm.

Romans 3:23

“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”

Man (Adam and Eve) lost their access and uninterrupted communication with God and the Kingdom of Heaven. Their access was closed off to them forever. They were also removed from the Garden of Eden and a flaming sword was placed to guard the way back in. If this problem was to be resolved it had to be a supernatural solution since the separation is not physical, even though it is experienced and felt in the physical realm.

God, as a result of His love for the beings He created, decided to put a powerful plan in place to redeem mankind from the clutches of Satan who had successfully deceived them in the garden. For this plan to succeed, the core of the plan had to be spiritual in nature. A spiritual problem can only be resolved by a spiritual solution.

The plan that God orchestrated is demonstrated early on in what God did to clothe Adam and Eve in the garden after their fall. He killed a lamb and made coverings (clothes) for them from its skin. This was a demonstration of divine mercy and foretold what He would do in the future for the redemption of mankind. This act pointed to the Lamb who was to be slain, as we see in Revelation 13:8:

Revelation 13:8

All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.

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Amazing Path: One Family From the Other

As we saw in Genesis 3, the very first family failed terribly in the Garden and by Genesis 5 they had passed on that same failed spiritual condition to their offspring. In order to redeem us, God began the journey (path) to redeem mankind and restore the lost spiritual connection.

This journey began by first looking for a fresh family through whom He would introduce this amazing path. I firmly believe that God could have, if He wanted, stepped in on the day when Adam and Eve sinned and resolved the matter by a show of divine power. However, that solution presents a problem in itself. If God had instituted a resolution by a unanimous decision in Adam’s favour, being the just Judge of the universe, He would have gone against His own word. Satan would have had a firm excuse to call God a liar and a cheat, which the Lord of the earth is not. As you can see, in a way God had no option but to uphold His righteousness. So God levelled the field by first finding a family in Abraham (Genesis 12:1-3, Matthew 1:1-16, Luke 3:1-), through whom He would send Jesus, the Savior of mankind, into the world.

The simple yet complex and intricate plan of redemption spanned several generations of Abraham’s lineage that included godly people, kings, priests, ordinary people, criminals, vagrants, deviants, publicans and so on. Many prophets prophesied the birth of a saviour several hundred years before it occurred. One prominent prophecy is by Isaiah:

Isaiah 9:6-7

“For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7 Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end, Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, To order it and establish it with judgment and justice From that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.”

The summary of the plan was that the problem created by one person (Adam) had to be resolved through another person by the grace of God. The second Adam, Jesus, was that other person. He cleaned up the mess created by the first Adam and created an everlasting way for mankind’s total redemption.

This is what is called Salvation. After Jesus’ death and resurrection we learned the following:

Romans 5:12-15

 Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned— 13 (For until the law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law. 14 Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned according to the likeness of the transgression of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come. 15 But the free gift is not like the offense. For if by the one man’s offense many died, much more the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abounded to many.

Acts 10:13

Whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

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Pure Seed

In order for Jesus to procure salvation held in-trust for us all, He first had to be born by a pure seed. So he started from the same place where Adam started -- pure and sinless. Jesus was introduced into Mary’s womb directly by the Holy Spirit so that He would not be conceived from corrupted seed of Adam, passed down through the generations, thereby inheriting the fallen nature.

Let’s review Mary’s conversation with the angel Gabriel:

Luke 1:26-35

Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And having come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!” 29 But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was.

30 Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. 32 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. 33 And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.”

34 Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?” 35 And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.”

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Jesus Tempted

Right after Jesus was baptized, He was led of the Spirit into the wilderness to face the same thing our great, great, great, grandparents faced: that old serpent, Satan.

Jesus was subjected to temptation just as Adam and Eve were in the Garden. This is where the equation for mankind began to change. Jesus beat the devil in the first round, hands down. In the book of Mark we read:

Mark 1:12-13

Immediately the Spirit drove Him into the wilderness. 13 And He was there in the wilderness

forty days, tempted by Satan, and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered to Him.

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Jesus Killed By Wicked Hands

Satan actually miscalculated in thinking that by killing Jesus he could sever God’s plan for the redemption of mankind. Unfortunately for Satan, this was a mystery hidden from the foundation of the world, that by the death of One would rise new life for all who believe. The scripture put it this way in 1 Corinthians:

1 Corinthians 2:7-8

But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the ages for our glory, 8 which none of the rulers of this age knew; for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

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Jesus Buried And Resurrected

Jesus was buried after He was crucified. However, as He promised His disciples, He came back from the dead on the third day and revealed Himself in several different locations to the disciples.

By His resurrection, Jesus beat the devil again and permanently seized the power of life and death over mankind forever. From that day on, anyone who believes in Jesus Christ is automatically translated from darkness into the Kingdom of God and His Son Jesus Christ.

Chapter 6

Salvation and Water Baptism

If you believe in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ as a sacrifice in your place, in order to pay for the sins of humanity, then you are saved. Receiving Him makes you a child of God.

John 3:16-17

“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. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.”

John 1:12

“He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name.”

Salvation is a three-fold package. We are saved from original sin, from the power of Satan, and from ourselves. In order to be saved and receive all that is offered by God’s love to you and I, we must, according to Acts 2:38:

Acts 2:38-39

“Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar of , as many as the Lord our God will call.”

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Original Sin

Back to Genesis 5, we see that Adam procreated children after his own nature (the sinful disobedient nature -- full of disobedience and lies), whereas, Adam was originally created in God’s own nature (full of love and truth).

As a result, every human being on the planet inherited a sinful nature that we cannot do anything about. It is in our nature and we are programmed, as it were, to disobey and hate God because we are opposite and alien to His nature. As a result, as the number of human beings increased on the planet, so has wickedness (Genesis 6:1).

The cure for original sin was for Jesus (whose name means to “save from sins”) to take the eternal penalty for our sin. The payment of the eternal penalty secured the eternal destiny for all of those who believe in His substitutionary sacrifice.

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Born Again: Our Spirit Reborn

When you are saved you are born again. Your spirit, which became lost and disconnected from Adam and Eve’s fall from glory, is born again and alive to God. You become alive to the Kingdom of God. Our access to the Kingdom of Heaven is restored.

John 3:3

“Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

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Saved From The Power of Satan

We are also saved from the power of Satan, whose power is in the wicked presentation of lies, which hold mankind bound.

John 8:44b

“ . . . When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.”

This power over Mankind is broken when the truth of the Gospel is preached and believed by those who hear.

John 8:32

“And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”

Not only are we saved from his lies, we are further kept from being entangled again by the yoke of bondage through Satan’s schemes (Galatians 5:1).

1 Peter 1:3-5

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, 5 who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.”

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Saved From Ourselves

Because we are human and still live on this planet, even after our spirit is born-again our mind (flesh) has to be renewed (remember that your mind is the same as our soul -- the seat of your will and emotions -- where we reason and relate to the natural realm). We have to consciously, by the grace of God, unlearn the sinful thinking and habits that have become ingrained in us. This is only made possible by God’s nature within our spirit after the new birth.

Romans 12:1-2

“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living

sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 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.”

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Water Baptism

Immediately after you surrender your life to Jesus Christ to be the Lord of your life you must be baptized. Baptism as taught by the apostles and the early church is by immersion. Baptism is the full-bodied immersion of a person in water.

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Why Must I Be Baptized?

Jesus commanded it

In His closing statements just before being taken up from the Earth Jesus included baptism as an important rite for those who would believe in Him.

Mark 16:16

“He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.”

The early church practiced it as Jesus commanded

All those who repented and received Jesus Christ on the day of Pentecost were baptized.

Acts 2:37-39

“Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, ‘Men and brethren, what shall we do?’” 38 Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar of , as many as the Lord our God will call.”

3. It is necessary for the remission of sins

To remit means to send away. Many Christians struggle in their walk today because they have been saved for years but have neglected the ordinance of baptism. Their sins were forgiven but because they walked in partial obedience and were never water baptized, they do not have the continued sense of joy that comes with salvation. I have seen this over and over again in the course of my ministry with people who have been Christians for years and were never baptized in water by immersion. Listen to what the Apostle Peter says as he responds to a crowd who asked what they must do to be saved; Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins;”

A public declaration

It is a public declaration and identification with the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ, by faith. Remember, whatever we receive from God is by faith. The just shall live by faith. God rewards those who express faith and diligently seek Him. Without faith, it is impossible to please God. What you identify with by faith you are able to live out.

Water baptism should not be delayed unduly

It should be arranged as soon as possible after a commitment to Christ has been made.

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What Happens Next After You Are Saved?

Upon our surrender we are commanded to grow as newborn babes. We are to desire the sincere milk of God’s word. This is one reason why people right after they get saved and are water baptized receive an insatiable hunger for the scriptures. Many believers have testified to receiving divine guidance and insight consistently from the pages of scripture.

1 Peter 3:18

But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

1 Peter 2:1-3

Therefore, laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking, 2 as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby, 3 if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious.

Chapter 7

Holy Spirit Baptism

Jesus defeated Satan and death (the permanent separation of mankind from God) through His death and resurrection. God, being the master planner, decided not only to restore us to the original place He had designed for us before the fall, He gave us something far better. He, by Christ, baptizes us by His Spirit to fill us permanently. I call this the Spirit All-Round experience.

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The Holy Spirit Inside Experience

As soon as you repent of your sins and receive Jesus Christ, according to John 1:12, the Holy Spirit performs a spiritual operation by which He removes you from the world and places you in God’s family. He makes you to “drink of Himself” as we see in the scripture below. God places a deposit of Himself in you and your spirit is made alive to God. At this point you are made a partaker of God’s divine nature. You have become His child.

1 Corinthians 12:13-14

For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and have all been made to drink into one Spirit. 14 For in fact the body is not one member but many.

Ephesians 1:13-14

In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.

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The Holy Spirit All-Round Experience

In Acts 1:8, Jesus reiterated His promise to His disciples that the Holy Spirit would come upon them and they would receive power to be His witnesses. He instructed them to wait in Jerusalem until this happened. On the day of Pentecost (a feast of the Jews), the Holy Spirit came powerfully in Acts 2:1-4. The disciples now had not only the Spirit-Inside, but in addition, they received the fullness of the Spirit All-Round.

This second experience is the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. It empowers you as a believer to serve Jesus Christ as a powerful witness of His grace in your life. The Baptism comes with gifts of the Holy Spirit as God wills for you for the purpose of being a blessing to others in the body of Christ.

Acts 1:4-5, 8

“And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, “which,” He said, “you have heard from Me; 5 for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now. 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.”

Acts 2:1-4

“When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. 2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.”

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Receiving the Holy Spirit Baptism

Receiving the Baptism, as with your salvation, is by faith. Once you have been baptized in the Holy Spirit you will be able to speak with ease with other tongues and prophesy (declaring God’s mind). In Luke 11:13, Jesus said:

Luke 11:13

“If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your

heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!”

You may request that your pastor or leader in the church who understands the baptism of the Holy Spirit pray for you with laying on of hands for this purpose.

See Acts 19:1-11 for more on receiving the baptism.

Chapter 8

Overcoming Temptation

Temptation is the lure by an external source to perform an action that one may enjoy immediately or in the short term, but likely regret later. Temptation is the inclination to sin. Temptation also describes the coaxing of a person into committing a sinful act. Sin is the violation of God’s will in either thought or action. God hates sin.

Since the recorded events of the temptation and fall of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, Satan has not given up on destroying mankind. He works overtime to permanently separate us from eternal fellowship with God. And according to Revelation 12:12, he knows that he has a short time. So just as the Bible says that Satan left Jesus in order to come back at an opportune time after tempting Him in the wilderness, in the same manner he and his minions return time and time again seeking to ensnare and bring us, who have been delivered, back into a lifestyle of sin and disobedience to God.

The truth about temptation is that no one is tempted by God as God does not tempt anyone, but we are tempted when we are first drawn away by our own lusts and then enticed, or when enticed sin is brought forth. Knowledge about temptation helps us overcome.

Proverbs 11:9

Through knowledge the righteous will be delivered.

If you know your enemy and his strategies you can develop and arm yourself with counter-strategies to overcome.

First of all, 1 Corinthians 10:13 tells us we have the grace to overcome temptation as God will not allow us to be tempted above our ability. Hebrews tells us we have help to overcome temptation.

Hebrews 4:15-16

For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

We are to come boldly to the throne of Grace if we find ourselves being tempted.

Secondly, we are to flee every appearance of evil.

Thirdly, hang out with people who believe the same things as you do and can encourage you unto good works.

1 Corinthians 15:33

Do not be deceived: “Evil company corrupts good habits.

Chapter 9

Personal Devotion

Every Christian must have a personal time when they meet with God, and this applies to you. It is one of the key pillars for a successful walk with Jesus. For you to grow strong in Him and overcome every temptation and all the wiles of the evil one, you must be connected to the Lord through daily fellowship. This time of the day when you meet with God for fellowship has been described as Quiet Time. While Jesus lived on the earth, a hallmark of His ministry was His devotional life. In Mark 1:35 we read:

Mark 1:35

Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed.

If Jesus being the Son of God, full of the Spirit’s grace and power needed to start His day with God, then we as followers have no option. Everything Jesus did set a principle and an example for us to follow. Paul the apostle wrote in 1 Corinthians 11:1, “Imitate me as I also imitate Christ.”

When you start your day with prayer and communion with your Heavenly Father, you conquer the day ahead of you, before you even meet it. The Bible says that, “Sufficient for the day is the evil in it.” Meaning that every day has more than enough evil in it to cause distress and wipe you out. On the flip side, all praise be to God that we have been given more than enough grace to overcome. However, in order to overcome we have to access His grace by developing a habitual lifestyle of prayer in devotion to God. This is one reason why Jesus told His disciples in Matthew 26:41 “Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

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Observing Your Quiet Time

Don't try too hard. Be patient with yourself. Start with 10-15 minutes daily. The morning waking hour works for many people, as those are our waking moments when we have better clarity of mind and fewer distractions. If your work or lifestyle situation dictates otherwise, create the time for your daily quiet time that fits into your schedule. Here is a suggestion for using 15 minutes:

Begin with listening and singing along to 3-5 minutes of worship music (you can sing one you like or play it). Worship from your heart invites the presence of God. The scripture says God inhabits the praise of His people and also that He seeks those who will worship Him in spirit and truth. Spend the next 5 minutes reading prayerfully and meditating (thinking deeply on) through a portion of scripture (the Gospel of John is a good place to begin). Pay close attention to verses that draw and sustain your attention. The Holy Spirit draws attention to verses that He wants to impress upon you, and through that, teaches you something.

Spend the next 5 minutes in prayer. When you pray, it is very helpful to speak audibly. Several benefits of audible prayer include keeping your mind from wandering, controlling your body, and increasing your faith. When you pray, talk to God. Just talk normally as you would to a friend. Start with thanking Him for your salvation, for family friends, your work and such things as are applicable and then proceed to request for the things you need. As time goes on you will grow remarkably in this area and will scarcely leave home without fellowship with your Heavenly Father.

Proverbs 8:17

“I love those who love me, And those who seek me diligently will find me.”

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What Meditating On the Word Will Do For You

Jesus said man shall live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. The scriptures in the Bible contain a collection of history, stories and accounts of God’s dealing with His people for several generations. The preserved accounts are for us to find hope in our present world.

Behind every verse of scripture is the living breath of God. We receive divine information, strength and cleansing because God speaks to us as we traverse and consider His working through others that were recorded in the pages of the Bible.

Joshua 1:8

“This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.”

Read, study and meditate on the word of God and you will grow and experience all-round prosperity. When difficulty arises, the Word will be a fortress for you.

Chapter 10

Saved Here to Serve Here

You were saved by faith and you will remain saved and grow by faith. The faith that procured salvation for you is not something that you were able to muster on your own, rather it is the gift of God. There is nothing you or anyone can or could have done to merit or buy your salvation.

Ephesians 2:8-9

“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.”

Jesus left His disciples here on Earth with a set of instructions that clearly define our terms of engagement.

In John 20:21, He says to His disciples: “Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.”

In Acts 1:8 He says, “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.”

So from these scriptures we see that our work while we are here on Earth is primarily to be His witnesses and bless humanity as He did while He was here, as we await His glorious return and the summation of all things.

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What Does A Witness Do?

A witness is someone who has, who claims to have, or is thought to have knowledge relevant to an event or other matter of interest. You are a certified witness to the power of Christ because His power has changed you. You are a first-person witness. The all round change in your life is evidence of this. You see it, feel it, live it, know it, and those close to you also know. What else would make you a solid witness for Jesus!

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Do Not Neglect Fellowship

Hebrews 10:24-25

And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, 25 not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.

The church is Jesus’ body on Earth and we must meet with other believers to be strengthened and encouraged. It is good to enjoy preachers from faraway lands over TV and the Internet. However, nothing can replace the body of local believers where you are planted. Be involved, learn, serve and grow.

Ephesians 4:16

The whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of

itself in love.”

Through the local fellowship of believers you are nurtured and sharpened in your walk with God.

Chapter 11

The End of All Things

How is it all going to end? What will happen to the world as we know it? Is there any hope for now and after you die?

Death is certain and we must all leave this world one day. Jesus promised all His followers a place for us according to John 14. The angels that appeared on His last day on Earth promised that He would surely return.

Acts 1:9-11

Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. 10 And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, 11 who also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.

If you are still alive when He returns you will be caught up with Him in the air when the trumpet sounds. There we will be with the Lord receiving preparation for a final showdown against Satan and all the host of darkness.

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. 14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus. 15 For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. 16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore comfort one another with these words.

As you continue in your journey of faith you will continue to learn more and more about God. And just as any building must have a foundation upon which it is built, the material in this book serves to help lay a solid foundation upon which your relationship with your heavenly Father is built. This is just the beginning. Have an amazing triumph and joy-filled life and walk with Jesus. I will see you some day without a shadow of doubt in Heaven.

1 John 3:1-3

Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. 2 Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. 3 And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.

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Prayer For Salvation

The Bible says that the Almighty God gave His only begotten Son that whomsoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. It also says that whomsoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. If you have been captivated by the message in this little book and you feel cut to the heart and have not yet received and trusted the Lord Jesus as your saviour, this is an opportunity and you can do that by uttering these words in faith.

Dear God in Heaven, today I, [insert your name], believe that Jesus came to take my place and that through His death and resurrection. He paid permanently for my sin. I repent of my sin and ask that you cleanse me from all sin, deliver me from the power and control of Satan, deliver me from myself. Write my name in the Lamb’s Book of Life. And from today give me the grace to live for you all the days of my life. I declare that I am crucified with Christ. Nevertheless, I live from now on by the faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me. I am finished with the world, with sin and Satan. I am submitted to the power and control of the Holy Spirit from today.

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Personal Declaration For Daily Victory

Personal declarations are scripture-based declarations that you make based on what you have learned from the Word of God. They are what God says about you. Salvation itself is based on a personal declaration that we make coupled with belief in our hearts. So in the same manner, confessing what you have learned and believe about God will help your faith grow. You are simply declaring God’s word even if paraphrased over your life. And guess what? Whatever you say over yourself based on the revealed will of God, you will have, because life and death are in the power of the tongue. Hear what Jesus said in Mark 11:22-24:

Mark 11:22-24

So Jesus answered and said to them, “Have faith in God. 23 For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. 24 Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.”

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Confession For Victory In Life And The Believer’s Walk

Here is a sample confession you can use right away:

I, [insert your name], have been born again. My spirit has been made alive to God, my Creator, by the working of the Holy Spirit through Jesus Christ my Lord. I have been made a partaker of God’s divine nature. As a child of God I am entitled to the blessings procured for me through Jesus’ death and resurrection. I am blessed with spiritual blessings in heavenly places. God wishes for me to prosper and be in health even as my soul prospers. I will prosper spiritually and do well in every sphere of life. My future here on earth is secure in the love of the Father through Christ. Greater is He that lives in me than He that is in the world. By faith in Christ, I have overcome the world. I have grace to live a righteous life leading to holiness. God has a plan for me and He is working in me that which is fitting for His good pleasure. My will is surrendered to Him from now on and forever. In Him I live and move and have my being in time and for all eternity.