YOU NEED JESUS
TOPIC: YOU NEED JESUS
TEXT: ACTS 10:1-48
Beloved, do not be deceived, you need Jesus. If not now, you will need Him later; if not later you will need in the hereafter. Good deeds, alms giving, helping people, giving yourself to the poor, all these are not the gateway to the Kingdom of God. They are right and good practices, but much more is to receive and confess Jesus Christ as your Lord and personal Saviour. He is the only Way to the Father (John 14:6) and as many that received Him to them He gave power to become the sons of God, even those that believes His name (John 1:12). Do you have Jesus in your life? Can people around you see Christ in your Christianity? No matter how good you are, if you do not have Jesus, you have nothing. Let no man deceives you, you need Jesus and I need Him too; everybody needs Jesus and if we deny Him, He will not deny Himself on the last day. Do not wait till the end before you know Him.
Cornelius, a centurion, a non-Jewish, apparently maybe because of his closeness to the Israelites, cut their religious practices, for he prayed regularly, fear God greatly and giving alms to the people. One day, an Angel of God was sent to let him know that Heaven accepted his alms to the poor, his good deeds standstill in the presence of God but lack one thing, salvation through Jesus Christ (Acts 4:10-12). And because God is a merciful God, He sent him to Apostle Peter who later came to preach the Gospel to Cornelius and his entire household. If entering the Kingdom of God is by good deeds Cornelius and rich men would have filled the place up, but not at all, it is by being born again and accepting the person of Jesus Christ into one’s life. You must confess Jesus as the only begotten Son of God and this is your passport and visa to the Kingdom.
If salvation is not important, as far as the heaven to earth, God would not send an Angel to Cornelius. When Nicodemus came to Jesus by night, Jesus told him, “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God (John 3:3). He further said, “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God (John 3:6). No joke about this, if you are not born again, you are not in and of Christ. The question Nicodemus was asking Jesus was not relevant to the answers given by Jesus (John3:1-7). Cornelius likewise did not joke about God’s message; he prepared himself and his entire household.
Beloved, do not joke with this message of salvation, you need Jesus. Check yourself; do you really have Jesus in your life? If you do, praise God; if you do not, you need to invite Jesus into your life, confess Him as the only begotten Son of God, ask Him to be your Lord and Saviour and repent from all your sins. There will be a great shout in Heaven if you take a decision to turn to and follow Jesus today. If you have been saved, what are you doing concerning your household? Are your children, parents, brothers, sisters or anybody close to you saved? Have they received the message of salvation, like Cornelius you must reach out to your people and preach the gospel to them? You must rise up, go to your neighbourhood and evangelize souls for God. Do not assume people hear the gospel everyday, the messages out there are nothing but words to hell. If you have the right Word of Truth, take it to them and deliver people from the wrath to come. It also pays to evangelize.
Word Affirmation: “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes…" - Revelation 21:4 (Don't just say it, mean it!)
“If you are not born again, you are not in and of Christ."
Central Truth