Welcome to PowerPoint with Jack Graham. Pastor, what is your message about today? In a world filled with uncertainty, questions, turbulence, and sheer chaos, there's one thing every believer can know with absolute confidence. That you are saved and certain and secure forever in Jesus Christ. Today's message is answering one of the most important questions that we can ask.
Can you be sure of salvation? Can you be certain that all your sins are forgiven? Can you know with confidence that you have eternal life, that you're going to heaven? The answer to these questions is a resounding yes. You can know.
Over the next few minutes, we'll discover five essential truths from God's Word that will anchor your faith and give you the certainty to live boldly for Christ. Yes, you can be saved, certain, and secure in the one, the Lord Jesus Christ, who holds our future in His faithful, nail-scarred hands.
Now, here's Dr. Graham with his message. saved, certain, and secure. is essential That you live with confidence and certainty in your Christian life, the blessed assurance of knowing. That your sins are forgiven, that you're on your way to heaven, that you have eternal life, and that you can never lose it.
And because of what Christ has done for us, we live with this utter confidence, this Deep assurance. That we know, that we know, that we know, that we know. That Jesus is Lord. And because Christ is Lord of our lives, that we are with him now. And forever.
So safe, certain, and secure. Can you be sure?
Now, someone might think: well, it is presumptuous. and maybe even prideful. To be So confident.
Well, our confidence is not in ourselves. Our confidence is not in what we have done, but in what Christ has done for us. And so we're not looking to ourselves for our salvation, but we're looking to Jesus, who is our Savior. And there are There are assurances throughout the Word of God. that gives us this confidence for living.
So first John 5, 13. Puts it this way. These things are written to those of you who have eternal life, that you may have confidence, that you may know that you have eternal life. and that you may continue to believe in the name of Jesus. of the sun.
of God. Then down in verse 19 of 1 John chapter 5. It says, we know. That we are of God. The whole world.
Is in the hands of Satan, but we know. That we are the children Yeah. These things are written. To those of you who believe on the name of the Son of God, that you may. Know that you have eternal life.
So, how do we know? Here's how we know. Here's what we know. We know the Word of God, and the Word of God tells us who Jesus is and what He's done in our lives.
So, I'm going to give you five things that we know, and ways, therefore, that we can be sure. You can be as certain for heaven as if you were already there. Number one, God wants us to know that Jesus is our Lord and Savior. Paul expressed this in Second Timothy chapter one and verse twelve. He said.
I know whom I believed. And I'm persuaded that he is able to keep what I have committed unto him against that day. Against what day? The day that Christ comes again. He said, I know whom I have believed.
He said, I know Jesus. He's not someone I know about. He is real. To me. And my testimony to you today, and the testimony of thousands like me.
is to say That Jesus is Lord. And that because Christ is Savior and Lord, he is master and friend. That Jesus is alive. In me. He's not someone I just know about.
He's someone I know and love. God wants you to know that you have Not this experience of yesteryear. But a living, confident faith in Christ today. Here's what we know: we know. That we love him because he first loved us.
That this is a love relationship. And though we have not seen him, Peter says, we love him. We love Jesus because we know him.
So this is written to us. God's word is given to us. That we may believe what is written and receive the Savior, the Son of God. Have you welcomed Him into your life? Our confidence is in this: that Jesus is our personal Savior and Lord.
Number two. God wants us to know that all of our sins are forgiven. Look at 1 John. You're still in 1 John. Go back a few pages to 1 John.
Chapter 2. And look with me at verses 1 and 2. Of 1 John 1 and 2. My little children, these things I write to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, and do we sin?
Yes, indeed we do, but we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And he himself is the propitiation, that is, the redempter of our sins, for our sins, and not only for ours only, but also for the whole world. World. God wants you to know. That all your sins are forgiven.
We have a sin problem. And as a result of our sin problem, all of us. We live in guilt. And because of sin, there is shame and the regrets of our lives. And we live under this condemnation.
And so many people live. with the uncertainty of knowing. if God has forgiven them. Even people who have Been in the church or around the church, or maybe even you're a baptized believer, but you don't have assurance. in your life because you're wondering how could God forgive me?
How is it possible? For God to forgive, I can barely forgive myself, which doesn't do any good anyway. You know, the world says, forgive yourself.
Well, good luck with that. Because that's not going to do any good to forgive yourself. You need the forgiveness of God. Amen. Yet people think, well, God could never forgive me.
God could never Overlook my sin.
Well, the fact is. that God doesn't overlook our sin. He sees our sin. But he sent Jesus to die on the cross. And to pay the sin debt.
so that we could be forgiven. And his blood, the blood of Jesus Christ, cleanses us from every sin. And therefore, because we have been fully. and forever forgiven We can live life without regrets and we can live life with confidence, looking at our future, knowing that Jesus has said, as he said to the lame man in Mark's gospel: your sins are forgiven. Forgiven, rise up and walk.
He said to the woman, taken in adultery, Neither do I condemn you. Go and sin no more. You are forgiven in Christ. This means your past is blotted out. It is deleted.
It means that your present. The sins of your present Can be covered, is covered by and cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ.
So many people think, well, What happens when I sin? What happens when I commit sins as a Christian? Do I have to go back to goal? I mean, it's like being in one of those board games, and you have to go back to start. and get saved all over again.
Yeah. Because every sin that you've committed was in the future when Christ died for you. Right? All your sins were. We're in the future.
So whether your sins are past or present or future The blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, cleanses us from every sin. And all of our sins are therefore Cleansed. Look at Isaiah chapter 53, verses 5 and 6, key verse. Verses in the Bible, but he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities, and the chastisement, our peace, was upon him, and by his stripes. We are healed.
All we like sheep have gone astray. We have all turned everyone to his own way. And the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. 1 Peter 2.24. Who himself, that is Jesus, bore our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness by whose stripes you are healed.
Psalm 103, verse 12, As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. Psalm 32, verse 1, Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. God is saying, I've got you covered. completely and totally.
So When people say something like, Well, you can be saved, but then you could sin to the degree that you could lose your salvation. You know, there are people who teach that you can somehow. Lose your salvation, that you could forfeit your eternal life, that you could turn away and be lost again. The Bible teaches us. That once you are saved, you are always saved.
You say, I know, that's that old Baptist thing. No, it's the Bible thing. And here's why it's the Bible thing. Because every sin that we have committed is covered by the blood of Christ. As we have trusted him.
Listen to me. I always want to ask people: okay, if you can send away your salvation, how much sin does it take to send away your salvation? And how bad does it have to be? Right? I mean, is it one sin?
Is it ten sins? A hundred sins? 500 sins? How many sins do you have to sin to lose your salvation? Or, what kind of sin?
Is it the real biggies, the big ones? You have to do one of the big sins. And you could lose your salvation. And, you know, the little ones like gossiping and those kind of things. You know, God will overlook that.
No, if there was one. Scent of a scintilla. of sin Held to my account or your account, we would be on. We would be on a slide to hell. A water slide to hell.
Because if there is any sin that we have committed that is not covered, you see, you've got to understand the holiness of God. God is of pure eyes and to behold iniquity. If there's any sin against me, Did I'm lost forever, but Christ took my sin When Jesus went to the cross, he carried your sin and my sin with him. And therefore, we are saved and secure because of what Christ has done. You know, the way you stay saved is the way you are saved.
If you think that you are saved in any way by doing good works or doing good deeds or being religiously involved in some way, then you'll always wonder, Have I done enough? Have I done enough? Have I done enough? Am I being good enough? Am I righteous enough?
If you think it's by good deeds in any way that you are saved, you will never live in the confidence and assurance because you'll never know. But what we do is we live in the confidence of what Jesus has done for us, and therefore it is grace.
So the same grace that saves us and forgives us takes away our sin, and we live in this grace every day. And that's why we know and can say, I know that we are saved, because we are trusting in Christ alone. We have His pardon and His promise that He would take our sins and remember them no more. You're listening to PowerPoint with Jack Graham and the message. saved, certain, and secure.
The 23rd Psalm is one of the most beloved passages in the Bible. There is so much depth and encouragement in knowing that God is our shepherd. As we head towards Thanksgiving, we wanted to let you know it's not too late to join Dr. Graham as he leads and teaches through 23 days in the 23rd Psalm. If you would like to join the thousands who have already signed up for this special challenge, just text the word CHALENGE to 59-789.
Again, text Challenge to 59789. In a time marked by confusion, anxiety, and spiritual compromise, your support of PowerPoint helps point millions of people to the one source of unshakable hope and truth, God's Word. Through your generosity, you are helping proclaim the gospel across the globe. And with every broadcast, more people are discovering the Bible. To thank you for your gift of $10 or more, we want to send you Dr.
Jack Graham's booklet, Breaking Free from Stress. This timely resource will help you break the power of stress and anxiety in your life as you learn to rest in God's promises. To request your copy, simply text the word stress. That's stress. The first thing that we have to do is to do it.
Now, let's get back to today's message. saved, certain, and secure. So what we know Is that Jesus is our Lord and Savior because we have trusted in Him and Him only? What we know is that all of our sins are forgiven. And therefore What we know is that we have passed from death unto life.
That's the third. Thing I want you to see. He wants you to know that you have passed from death unto life. That's 1 John 5:11 and 12. 1 John 5, 11 and 12.
In fact, all of 1 John is an incredible manual for Christians of all stripes, whether you're a new Christian or a longtime Christian. Follower of Jesus, but we often say to new Christians for assurance to read 1 John. Because 27 times he mentions the word no or a derivative of the word no is to know, to know, to know, to know, to know. Here's how you know, here's how you know that you're saved. That's first the book of 1 John.
So 1 John 5 and 11 and 12 says this, and this is the testimony that he has given us eternal life, and that life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life, and he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. And that's when he says these things are written. These things are written to you that believe in the name of the Son of God.
So. We know that that we have passed from death to life. From temporal life to eternal life.
Now heads up on this one. Eternal life and heaven are not the same. They're not synonymous. Heaven is the byproduct of eternal life. Heaven is the byproduct, the future that we have because we have been given eternal life.
Eternal life is in Christ. We have the Son, Jesus. We were born dead in our trespasses of sin. We were the walking dead. But because Christ said, I've come that you might have life and have it more abundantly, we now, having received Christ, have received.
His life in us. Christ is alive in us, and we have eternal life. Life. Listen to John chapter 10, verses 27 and 29. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me, and I give them eternal life, and they shall what?
Never perish, neither shall anyone snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of my Father's hand. The devil can't snatch you out of the Father's hand. Don't you know if he could he would? Amen.
Jesus said, I give you eternal life. I've said it many times here. You know, how long is eternal life?
Well, it's eternal. Is forever, but it's more than just living a long time. It's the life of God in you, it's the life of Christ. You see, we were devoid of life, we were empty of God. That's what it means to be life.
Lost, but when Christ comes to live in us, we have passed from death to life. I am alive, alive, alive in Christ. I've passed from the old life and I'm living a brand new life because of Jesus himself. And so eternal life is what he gives us right now. In John 17 and verse 3, this is what Jesus said.
And this is eternal life.
Okay, you want to know what eternal life is based on what Jesus said? That they may know you, the only true God, in Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. All right? Eternal life is to know God and Jesus Christ. You receive eternal life.
The moment, the miracle takes place when you pass from death to life. Eternal life means here and now. You say, Well, I'm going to wait to heaven to find out if I have eternal life. That's too late. It's too late.
Here and now is when you put your faith and trust in Christ, and you're given this eternal life. Life. in Christ.
Next. What does God want us to know? Here's what we know: God wants us to know His perfect plan. for our lives. God wants us to know.
His perfect plans. For our lives, God does have a plan. And God has a purpose for us. Romans 8, 28 says, And we know that all things are working together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to his purpose, for whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover, whom he predestined, these he called, whom he called, he justified, whom he justified, these he glorified.
It is a done deal, accomplished, to telesty, finished. What Christ has done for us means that he has a plan, and his plan is working progressively, perfectly in our lives, that he's constructing us. And we're just getting started when we come to Christ and he's building us up and making us more and more like Christ. And therefore, what we know is that everything that's happening in our lives, both good and bad, God is good, and God does good, and God is working all things together for the good to those who love the Lord and who are called according to his purpose. Listen to me.
God has a perfect plan, a plan, and a purpose for your life. You're not an accident. You're not here by chance or circumstance. God formed you in your mother's womb, and with that plan comes God's Progressive work His will in your life, and so the only thing we need to do is to make sure we're getting ourselves aligned in God's will. And when you are aligned in this way, life works because God works in response to our obedience to Him.
And God works even when we are disobedient to Him, He turns things around and enables us to get back on track.
So, I'm saying all this to tell you that the world, the world is going nowhere. When Simon Peter preached on the day of Pentecost and he said, Save yourselves from this crooked and untoward generation, the word untoward means a generation that's going nowhere. If you don't know Christ in your life, you don't really have a purpose. You may have your plans and ideas, but what happens when life falls apart? And it inevitably does?
Then what? When your plans fail.
Now, do you see what a difference this makes in the way you live? If you get up every single day, Knowing I am saved, I know that my sins are forgiven, I have passed from death into life, and I am fulfilling God's plan and God's purpose for my life every single day. Do you see what incredible confidence and certainty? that brings to your life. That you are safe, certain, and secure.
And I just want to urge you by all means. To remember Philippians 1:6. Being confident of this very thing: that he who began the good work in you will perfect it, perform it, complete it until the day of Jesus Christ. God began the work in you, and what God starts, he finishes. He's not finished with you.
He's finishing you. And what he starts, he finishes in your life.
So don't live Wondering what to do next. Live with the confidence that in God's word, He has given you a playbook, He has given you a manual for life, a guidebook for life, and you can live your life according to God's Word. Here's what we know. We know that we have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. We know that all of our sins are forgiven, therefore, we are saved forever, eternally secure in Christ.
Here's what we know: we know that we have passed from death to life. We were lost and headed for judgment in hell. We repented, we received Christ.
Now we're on our way to heaven. And we know that God has a plan, and God has a purpose in our lives. And one more thing. We know. That because Jesus is Lord.
That everything that is happening in our world is under his control. And so we don't live in fear and uncertainty about the future. We don't live with angst and anxiety about what's going to happen next. Our eyes are on the Lord, the one who has come and who's coming again in great power and great glory and in great victory. You're listening to PowerPoint with Jack Graham and the message.
saved, certain, and secure. It's easy to get caught in the cycle of always trying to do more, be more, and carry it all by yourself. As a result, so many people battle stress and anxiety, especially around the holidays. But that's not God's heart for you. And in his booklet, Breaking Free from Stress.
doctor Jack Graham speaks directly to the anxious heart. Offering biblical hope to those who feel weighed down and wrung out by stress. Drawing from Psalm 23 and real-life stories, he reminds you that while stress is inevitable, living enslaved to it is not. Breaking Free from Stress is our thank you for your gift of $10 or more to help proclaim the gospel through PowerPoint. And when you give, know that your support helps take God's word across the airwaves, into homes, prisons, and hearts all over the world.
to request your copy of Breaking Free From Stress? Text stress to 59-789. That's stress. to 59-789. The 23rd Psalm is one of the most beloved passages in the Bible.
There is so much depth and encouragement in knowing that God is our shepherd. As we head towards Thanksgiving, we wanted to let you know it's not too late to join Dr. Graham as he leads and teaches through 23 days in the 23rd Psalm. If you would like to join the thousands who have already signed up for this special challenge, just text the word CHALENGE to 59-789. Again, text CHALENGE to 59-789.
Pastor, what is your PowerPoint for today? As we close our time together today, I want you to imagine for a moment what your life would be like, what it would look like. if you truly lived out the truths that we have discovered in God's Word today. Picture, just imagine, waking up in the morning with the unshakable knowledge that you are God's beloved child, completely accepted, adopted, and eternally secure. Think about the conversations that you would have and how they would be different.
The risks that you would take to advance the kingdom of God. Think about the peace that you would carry in the midst of any storm that you would face. When you know Really no. That you are forever saved, that you are certain of that salvation and secure in that salvation. It won't just change your theology.
It will transform the way you live your life every single day. But here's what I want to challenge you with today. Don't let this message remain in your head, but get it in your heart. It's not something just to think about intellectually, but to experience personally. These aren't just doctrinal points to debate or theological ideas to contemplate.
This is the foundation, the very foundation for a life of radical and real faith and fearless love and witness for the gospel.
Some of you have been living like spiritual orphans, even though you are a child of God, a son, a daughter of the king. you've been kind of hesitating, tiptoeing through life, or you're stuck in life. when God has called you to live boldly. You've been whispering His name when He's given you a voice to proclaim His grace and His goodness. If you've never settled this question of your salvation, I'm praying that you will do it to day.
I mean right now. Don't go one more moment wondering Whether or not you are a believer or not, and carrying the weight of uncertainty and insecurity. Ask Christ to come into your life for sure, for certain. Know that he died to remove your sin and give you eternal salvation. He's standing with wide open arms.
ready to receive you. and ready to make you his own child. And for those of you who know these truths, but haven't been living in the power of God's Word, it's time to step out of the shadows of doubt. and into the brilliant light and beauty of God's unshakable love and grace. You can walk through life not just informed, but transformed.
Yes, you can be saved, certain, and secure in the one, the Lord Jesus Christ. who holds our future in his faithful, nail-scarred hands. And that is today's PowerPoint. Remember, when you give a gift of $10 or more to PowerPoint, we'll send you a copy of Dr. Graham's booklet, Breaking Free from Stress as Our Thanks.
Just text the word stress to 59-789. And join us again next time as Dr. Graham brings a message about how you can tap into the same power that raised Jesus from the dead. That's next time on PowerPoint with Jack Graham. PowerPoint with Jack Graham is sponsored by PowerPoint Ministries.
