15th Sep 26 | 04:00
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Belief in Jesus
📖 Acts 13:04-12
30 – Sun, 27 Apr 2025 – *Belief in Jesus* - _Acts 13:04-12_ – THE MINISTRY IN CYPRUS – _Romans 10:08-10_
_Acts 13:12 Then *the proconsul believed*, when he saw what had been done, being astonished at the teaching of the Lord*._
Sergius Paulus came to faith in Jesus.
Let us consider this matter of believing in Jesus. Sergius Paulus came to a new life in Christ.
_Romans 10:8-10 But what does it say? "THE WORD IS NEAR YOU, IN YOUR MOUTH AND IN YOUR HEART" (that is, the word of faith which we preach): (9) that *if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved*. (10) For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation._
Words that come out of our lips are of immense significance. _Matthew 12:37 For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned."_
Words are the expression of the heart. _Luke 6:45 A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. *For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks*._
_Proverbs 27:19 As in water face reflects face, *So a man's heart reveals the man*._ A man’s heart reveals the man, and his words reveal his heart. The Lord sees the heart. _I Samuel 16:7 But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the LORD does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but *the LORD looks at the heart*."_
Therefore, the confession of the lips is a revelation of the condition of the heart and is necessary for conversion.
*The confession of the lips is linked to belief in the heart, which involves surrendering the will to Christ.* Though words are precious and reveal the heart, man's heart is so deceitful that we can say words that do not communicate the surrender of our hearts to Christ. _Jeremiah 17:9 "The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?_
This is why we must guard the heart. _Proverbs 4:23 Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life._
_Matthew 7:21 "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven._
When Sergius Paulus believed he was going through these steps. He was confessing with his mouth the Lord Jesus, he believed Jesus in his heart by surrendering his will to Christ. _James 1:22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves._ / _James 2:17 Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead._
*Belief in Jesus is not a theoretical concurrence of Christ as Lord but a practical surrender of our everyday life to Him.* This is where people struggle. We say we are believers in Christ, but our everyday lives are lived on our own understanding of life. We live based on our learning, experience, background, circumstances, and a combination of several factors.
Many Christians have made and are making life choices that are based on the principles by which the people of the world operate. We then claim that the Lord has guided us because certain circumstantial reasons fell into place. *We claim that our decisions were God’s will for us, but our motives behind making those decisions were nothing but the priorities of the world, not God at all.*
Since we are involved in Christian activities, we affirm to ourselves that we are doing God’s will. Have we discerned the mind of God? Are we willing to be entirely submitted to Him?
When we are fully yielded to God, the Lord, most miraculously, will guide us in His ways.
We have seen this happening in our family life, again and again. Many important decisions that we made, at the time we made those decisions, defied human logic, but we took those decisions because we were convinced that this was the way of the Lord. Today, after several years, we are witnessing the wonderful fruit of those decisions that were led by God.
*Belief in Jesus is to rest in Him and rely on Him completely for our everyday life decisions. He is our habitat. We live and move and have our being in Him.*
Sergius Paulus believed in Jesus. He was entering into the habitat relationship with Jesus.
Belief in Jesus reckons that Jesus rose from the dead. Jesus rose from the dead for us to come into a new life in Christ. Without the resurrection of Jesus, we have no basis for our conversion. _I Corinthians 15:14 And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty._
Jesus died for our sins, He was buried, and He rose again. This is the basis for the Christian faith. _I Corinthians 15:17 And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins!_ If we have not come to the new life in Christ, then we are still in our sins.
Many Christians are not living the resurrected life in Christ. Their life journey is still based on self-effort to please God. *Sergius Paulus was entering a new life in Christ, for He understood the resurrection power of Jesus that was demonstrated before Him*.
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