Is His Power Enough, 3?-Daily Message-October 12, 2008

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Dear Daily Message Readers, READ: Jonah 3 BIBLEGATEWAY LINK: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=jonah 3;&version=47; Jonah 3:3-4 (ESV) “So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the LORD. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly great city, three days' journey in breadth. 4 Jonah began to go into the city, going a day's journey. And he called out, ‘Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!’” I received many comments about the last two devotions over Jonah. It seems that what has been taught from Scripture has struck a chord with many of you. Praise God! Let’s be clear: Before we can understand the glorious Gospel of Jesus Christ, we must see that “whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God” (Romans 3:19). This is not Darin’s methodology of evangelism versus someone else’s in ministry. The Scripture states that the Law must precede sharing grace because sinful man will continually try to justify himself by excusing his sin in a parade of good deeds he believes makes him sufficient to go to heaven. Through and through, this is the biblical model, regardless of what the most famous books in your local Christian bookstore teach is the truth. Some of you have asked for more practical implications of what this means for you in your daily life. Before we do that, remind yourself that man is unable, unwilling, and incapable to come to God by Himself because, by his nature and deeds, he is dead in his sin. A divine work of God must be done to grant Him faith and repentance to believe. However, let’s review some of the practical implications: *Your good deeds alone will never “win” anyone into the kingdom of God. *The Gospel must be verbally shared with words. It doesn’t come through osmosis. *No amount of “relevant preaching” or “seeker-sensitive” elements will ever woo anyone to run after Jesus Christ. Have you come to see these practices in your own life? Have you been so hit by the Law of God that you realize your own sinfulness before God and that God Himself can justly send you to hell? Faith Lesson: The sermon of Jonah wasn’t complicated nor was it entertaining to the ears, but it found a place in the people’s hearts because God is pleased to unite the preaching of His Law with His saving power. In Christ,Darin Smith