salvation Archives - NCC Cartersville

The Lord is Risen Indeed!

March 30, 2024 by NCC-Admin-1 in Pastor's Corner

“And they rose up the same hour and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven gathered together, and them that were with them, saying, ‘The Lord is risen indeed…”
Luke 24: 33-34 KJV

What a day it had been! There was the shock and horror of the brutal crucifixion and death of Jesus just three days before. Then the burial and the sealing of the tomb. And now, on this day, just three days after all of these events there were reports that Jesus was alive! That He had risen from the dead!

Most who heard these reports were skeptical. Why wouldn’t they be? No one who had ever been crucified and buried had ever risen from the dead! Everyone knew that when a man was dead that was the end! There was no coming back from that! After all, the only man who had ever, in their lifetime, raised anyone from the dead was now dead himself!

But as these two men journeyed home from Jerusalem to Emmaus (a small village 7 1/2 miles from Jerusalem) they were joined by a stranger. They had been discussing the confusing events of the past few days and were amazed to hear this stranger’s thoughts about those events (Luke 24: 25-27). They were so intrigued by his insight they insisted he stay overnight in their home.

As they began to share the evening meal together, this stranger took the bread, gave thanks to God, broke it, and passed it unto them. Suddenly, at that moment, their eyes were opened and they recognized Him! It was Jesus! Jesus was seated with them at their table! And as soon as they recognized Him, He vanished from their sight!
They were startled! They were amazed! They were filled with awe and wonder! Their heart overflowed with excitement and joy! Jesus was alive! They immediately forgot their meal and rushed back to Jerusalem, at 2-hour journey on foot. They burst into the room where the disciples and others were still gathered and joyfully declared: The Lord is risen indeed!

The realization that Jesus is alive, that He is risen from the dead, changes everything! It changed everything for them. And it changes everything for us. The truth that Jesus is alive comes by revelation. That revelation may come to us in different ways, but the outcome is the same. The Lord is risen! He is risen indeed! That changes everything! And we are never be the same again!

Rev. James W. Black

The Bread of Life

March 2, 2024 by NCC-Admin-1 in Pastor's Corner

“And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.”
John 6:35 NKJV

To me, there is nothing better than freshly baked bread! In the abundance of our culture, we often take bread for granted. But to those in the 1st Century, especially to the common everyday people, bread was essential for life. For many, it was a struggle each day just to provide enough bread for their family. When Jesus declared that He was the Bread of Life it was a term that got everyone’s attention. There was a reason that Jesus compared Himself to bread!

Bread is good! Bread feeds us. Bread sustains us. Bread nourishes us. Bread strengthens us. And bread satisfies us! Jesus is the revelation and the embodiment of all these things.

The character and nature of Jesus is good. The Psalmist declared: “Oh taste and see that the Lord is good!” (Psalm 34:8). Jesus is the revelation of all of the goodness of God! In order to discover this reality, we must receive Him and take Him into our lives. It is Jesus who feeds the longing of our soul to find value, meaning, and purpose in life. It is Jesus who sustains us daily, moment by moment. Our very next heartbeat is dependent upon Him! It is Jesus who strengthens us in our weakness and enables us to do what we could never do on our own. (John 15:5). It is Jesus who satisfies us and brings contentment in life. It is Jesus who reveals to us just how valuable we are to Him by sacrificing His very own life for us! And It is Jesus who sent the Holy Spirit to indwell us, teach us, guide us, and enable us to hear and understand the Word of God.

Unlike the natural bread which must be received again and again, Jesus continually, constantly, and forever satisfies us once and for all! We never have to be spiritually empty or hungry again!

Rev. James Black

When Our Heart Condemns Us

January 20, 2024 by NCC-Admin-1 in Pastor's Corner

“For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart and knoweth all things.
1 John 3:20 KJV

Do you ever feel that your walk with the Lord Jesus, just does not measure up? That you are not good enough? That no matter what you do, you just don’t do enough? Do you ever feel like just giving up? Every follower of Christ has been assaulted by these feelings and these thoughts at one time or another. These thoughts and feelings describe what the Word God calls the condemnation of the heart.

These thoughts and feelings originate from two sources. First, they originate from the Adversary who seeks to heap guilt and condemnation upon us by attacking us with these thoughts and feelings. Secondly, they originate with us when we get caught up in focusing on ourselves instead of focusing on Christ.

When we focus on ourselves it is easy to see our shortcomings. Then we find ourselves comparing ourselves to someone else who “appears” to be more spiritual than we are and we begin to agree with those thoughts and feelings by affirming them. But the reality is that none of us measure up, are good enough, or can ever do enough to fully satisfy the requirements for being fully accepted by a Holy God! We must accept and believe (by faith) that Christ’s finished work is completely sufficient to satisfy the wrath of God (John 3:36). And that His Blood is completely sufficient and able to cleanse us of all our sins and make us righteous and fully acceptable in His sight (1 John 1: 9). All of which is based upon what Christ has already done, not on what we think we can or should do. If God says it is sufficient then surely we can believe that it is!

With that firm understanding, we can then realize that God is indeed greater than our heart! When we choose to take our attention off of ourselves and focus on Him and what He has accomplished for us, we will then find victory over those thoughts that would assault our hearts and minds. (Rom. 8:1, Phil.4:8).

Rev. James W. Black

The Word Became Flesh

December 24, 2023 by James Black in Pastor's Corner

“In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
…And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us…”.
John 1:1,14 KJV

Through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, John makes a declaration that is beyond human comprehension. The Word was with God! The Word was God! And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us! It stretches the human mind beyond its capacity to fully comprehend it. It bankrupts the human language to try and describe it! The only explanation for it is God! It can only be understood in God!

The Word is eternal! Before anything came into existence, there was the Word! (John 1:1). Before there was ever ink and paper, which we call the Bible, there was the Word! The Word is a Person! He has always existed and always will exist. The Word is God! The Word created all things! (Gen. 1 & 2; Psalm 33:6, John 1:3). The Word is the Lord Jesus Christ; the Second Person of the Godhead! The Word became clothed in sinless human flesh! The Word became one of us! He stepped into our world and lived in the midst of fallen, sinful humanity! Yet he never sinned! There is no greater passage in scripture that captures both the Deity of Jesus and the wonder and mystery of His incarnation in humanity!

He who dwells in eternity became restricted, to time and space while on earth. He who is self existent , experienced every need and emotion of humanity! And though He was clothed in humanity, His Deity was not diminished! He was (as the theologians say) “Very God of Very God!”

Who can explain this wonder and this mystery? Who can fully grasp the majesty of the incarnation of God in human flesh? The only thing anyone can do in light of this revelation and truth is to bow before Him in worship and adoration! What an awesome God we serve!

Rev. James W. Black

Gratitude Is An Expression of Salvation

November 11, 2023 by NCC-Admin-1 in Pastor's Corner

“Enter into his gates with thanksgiving and into his courts with praise; be thankful unto him, and bless his name. (5). For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.”
Psalm 100:4-5 KJV

One of the hallmarks of being truly “born again” is a heart that is full of gratitude! When we consider where we once were, (blinded to the Truth, walking in darkness, totally separated from God and on our way to an eternity in hell, which we justly deserved) and then to be redeemed, washed, and cleansed by His Precious blood; forgiven and made totally righteous in His sight and transferred by the power of the Holy Spirit into His eternal Kingdom, we should be forever filled with heartfelt gratitude for what He has done for us! The awe and wonder of that reality should cause us to be eternally grateful to Him!

Gratitude toward God the Father for His goodness and grace is the normal response of those who follow Christ. Paul the Apostle was forever in awe at the grace of God which would transform him from being one of the greatest enemies of Christ (Acts 9:1-2; Gal. 1:13) to becoming one of His greatest defenders (2 Cor. 11: 23-28). Paul was overwhelmed by the depths of such love! He was eternally grateful for God’s goodness and grace that had been poured out upon him.

Gratitude is expressed through our worship! Genuine worship flows from a heart that is grateful for being redeemed. Such gratitude is spontaneous, genuine, and ongoing. And gratitude is expressed through service

Paul’s unwavering and unselfish service to the Lord Jesus was an expression of his deep gratitude! The Scripture says that those “who have been forgiven much, love much.” (Luke 7:44-48). All that we do for the Lord flows out of our love for Him and is an expression of our gratitude toward Him! Could it be that one of the reasons that so few are willing to serve the Lord in any capacity is that they have forgotten what it means to be grateful? When God’s people live in conscious gratitude, there is never a shortage of servants.

Rev. James W. Black

The Power of the New Covenant

November 4, 2023 by NCC-Admin-1 in Pastor's Corner

“For this reason, Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance —now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant.” (Heb. 9:15 NIV 1984 Edition).

The Old Covenant which gave us the Law of God (revealed in the 10 Commandments in Exodus 20) was weak in that it could not make anyone righteous in the sight of God (Heb. 7:19). It is not that the Law is bad. No, it is very good. The Law reveals the Holy, just, and righteous nature of God. The problem was the weakness of our humanity. Because of our sinful nature, we were unable to keep the Law consistently and continually. In other words, the Law was unable to deliver us from the power of sin. No matter how hard one tries, everyone inevitably fails in their effort to keep the Law. (Rom. 3:23). Thus, the weakness of the Old Covenant was not in the Law itself but in us.

In Christ, God gave us a “better covenant”. In this Covenant, the Law was not done away with, but was fully kept by Christ (Heb. 10:10). He was sinless in every possible way. When He became our substitute on the cross, our sin was vicariously placed upon Him! At that moment He became our substitute and was subject unto death because death is the result of sin (Rom. 6:23). It is not that He sinned, but the fact that He took our sin upon Himself. And there God the Father judged Him just as if He were judging us! (Col. 2:13).

After His resurrection, His blood that was offered once and for all for our sin was placed upon the Mercy Seat before the Throne of God (Heb. 10: 16-18). And now all who put their trust in that Blood and personally accept the sacrifice that He made by surrendering their life to Jesus are made absolutely holy and righteous in the sight of God (2 Cor. 5:21)! It is no longer the keeping of the Law that makes one acceptable in the sight of God. It is the surrender to the finished work of Christ and receiving from Him what was impossible for us to do ourselves! (Rom. 6:23, Eph. 2:8-9).

Our life afterward is simply a daily acknowledgment and surrendering to the Power of the cross (Gal. 2:20). What follows is a heart full of gratitude and love which motivates us to follow Him. Our service for Him is now born out of love and gratitude rather than obligation! And the best part of this New Covenant is that He gives us the Holy Spirit to live within us Who empowers us to do what we could never do on our own (John 14:20, 25; John 15:26; John 16:13)! This New Covenant is truly better than the old!

James W. Black

Our Powerful Union With Christ

August 13, 2023 by NCC-Admin-1 in Pastor's Corner

“I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without me you can do nothing.”
John 15:5 NKJV

The invitation of Jesus is for us to abide in Him! The Greek word translated “abide” is the word “meno”. It means to stay, to remain, to continue, or to permanently abide in one place.” (Sparkling gems from the Greek page 578). Jesus is the author and the giver of life, both natural and eternal (John 3:16, Col. 1:16). There is no life apart from Him! And when we receive His gift of salvation we are joined with Christ and become recipients of eternal life (John 10: 27-28).

Our adversary wants us to believe that somehow we must “do more” in order for that life to be maintained. The evil one wants us to think that we must read the Bible more, attend church more, give more, and serve more so that our life in Christ can be meaningful and fruitful. Now all of those things are good and are important for our growth in Christ. Those spiritual disciplines teach us, strengthen us, encourage us, and help us to learn and understand more of the reality and power of Christ. But they are not an end in themselves. Our life in Christ rests on the finished work of Christ Himself. It is only when we understand our “settled and fixed” union with Christ that these other disciplines become meaningful to us. The fruit is produced by His life flowing into us, through us, and out of us. The fruit is not produced by our own effort. The fruit is produced by simply “being” in Christ.

To abide in Him means that we are no longer striving. We are no longer struggling. We are resting. We are content with simply “being” in Christ. And it is through this understanding of “abiding” that we discover the joy and the richness of His life flowing in us and through us! It comes by simply being “joined” with Him! We never hear or see an apple tree struggling to produce apples. The branches of the apple tree produce apples because they are connected and joined to the life of the tree. The “fruit of the Spirit” or the life of Christ is produced simply by being joined to Christ, resting in Him, and living in Him. (Gal. 5:22-25). And that is truly amazing, powerful, and liberating!

Rev. James W. Black

Not Ashamed of the Gospel

August 6, 2023 by NCC-Admin-1 in Pastor's Corner

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ; for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first and also to the Greek.”
Rom. 1: 16 KJV

Paul had been one of the most religious men of his day! He was a rising star among the religious elite, the Pharisees. His religious credentials were impeccable (Phil. 3: 4-10). He was a brilliant student of the Word of God. He had a great zeal for God. He was sincere in what he believed. But he did not truly know God! He only had religion, not a relationship with God. In his religious zeal he persecuted the Christians for their faith in Jesus Christ, who they claimed had been raised from the dead. Paul did not believe it! He considered them to be a threat to the God of Israel. He was the enemy of Christ!

But Jesus, in His sovereign grace, powerfully revealed himself to Paul as he was traveling to Damascus to persecute the Christians who were there (Acts 9). In his encounter with the risen Christ, Paul was radically transformed from the enemy of Christ to one of the greatest defenders of Christ! Paul would never be the same again (2 Cor. 5:17). And although it meant rejection by his family and the Jewish people he dearly loved, he was more than willing to pay the price! He was not ashamed to be identified with Christ! Paul knew that Jesus was alive! Jesus had revealed Himself unto him, forgiven him, anointed him, and called him to be His vessel in the proclamation of the Gospel to his generation.

As God’s people we are not to be rude, offensive or obnoxious in our culture. But neither are we to be ashamed to be identified with Christ! We make no apologies for being followers of Jesus. We will often be rejected, ridiculed, mocked and maligned by family and friends. We will be misunderstood. We will be falsely accused of things we did not say and do not believe. We will have lies told about us. But the fact that these things happen should encourage us. For Jesus said that these things would happen (Matthew 5: 11-12).

Even though the darkness is increasing in our culture, it is our calling to speak up and live out the gospel of Jesus Christ. If we do, some will see and be drawn to Him. And that is the greatest reason not to be ashamed. After all, why would we ever be ashamed of embracing and living for the very One who paid for our redemption , forgave us and delivered us from the penalty of sin, death and hell? Why would we ever be ashamed of that? No one else has ever done for us what Jesus has done for us! And no one ever will!

Rev. James W. Black

The Power of Pentecost

June 10, 2023 by NCC-Admin-1 in Pastor's Corner

But ye shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost has come upon you, and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and Samaria and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” (Acts 1:8 KJV).

The Power of Pentecost is the Power of the Holy Spirit! The Holy Spirit is the Third Person of the Godhead. It was the Holy Spirt Who hovered over the darkness and the deep waters at the very beginning of creation, bringing order out of chaos (Gen. 1:2). It was the Holy Spirit Who Jesus promised to send to all of us after His resurrection (John 14: 16-18). It was the Holy Spirit Who birthed the Church (Acts 2:1-3). And it was the Holy Spirit who turned fearful men into mighty and powerful witnesses for Jesus after Pentecost (Acts 4:19-20).

Every soul that is born again is born again by the Power of the Holy Spirit (John 3:5-6). Every child of God who experiences the assurance of their salvation is assured by the Power of the Holy Spirit (Rom. 8: 15-16). Every healing that takes place takes place because of the Power of the Holy Spirit. Every person that is delivered from bondage (addiction, anger, bitterness, depression, fear, worry, etc.) is delivered because of the Power of the Holy Spirit. Every redeemed child of God who has the assurance of eternal life has that assurance because of the Power of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 2: 9-12). We can neither live nor function with confidence and effectiveness without the Power of the Holy Spirit. We are totally dependent upon the Holy Spirit in all things pertaining to the King and the Kingdom! The Work of the Holy Spirit has nothing to do with the effort of man.

The Power of the Holy Spirit operating in and through His Redeemed is unstoppable!(Rom. 8:31). The gates of hell cannot prevail against a powerful spirit-filled church (Matt. 16:18). It is only the Power of the Holy Spirit Who births and sustains revival (Acts 19:17-20). It is only the Power of the Holy Spirit that brings conviction of sin (John 16:8). It is only the Power of the Holy Spirit that sets people free. We need a fresh anointing of the Holy Spirit individually and corporately so that the life of Christ and the Power of Christ might be manifested in an unbelieving world. We need once again, the Power of Pentecost! Holy Spirit come and reveal the glory of Jesus to us afresh and anew!

Rev. James W. Black

Not Guilty

April 9, 2023 by NCC-Admin-1 in Pastor's Corner

“And if Christ has not been raised, then your faith is useless and you are still guilty of your sins (1 Cor.15:17 NLT).

The essence of our faith rests completely upon the resurrection. If the literal, physical, bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is not true, then our faith is useless. If the resurrection is not a reality then our faith in Christ is meaningless. The unbelieving world knows this and that is why the resurrection is the one thing that is constantly denied and assaulted. It was from the very beginning (Mathew 28:11-15). It will continue until He returns.

But Christ is risen from the dead! He is alive! The resurrection of Jesus is the most historically authenticated event in all of ancient history. Through His death and His resurrection Christ conquered the power of sin and death and has stripped our adversary, Satan, of all his authority and power over our lives. All the demons of hell tremble at the Name of Jesus (James 2:19). They, more than anyone else, understand the power and the authority of that Name! The only power the adversary has now is what we give him (Rom. 6: 7-14).

Through the resurrection, Jesus single handedly defeated all the host of darkness and defeated them completely (Col. 2:15)! Satan and his demons were totally conquered once and for all! No one anywhere can rightfully or successfully challenge the Power and the Authority of Jesus!

Because of the resurrection our sin debt has been paid in full. And we are declared before the Judge of all the earth (Gen. 18:25) to be “Not Guilty!” In order for that to become a reality we must fully repent of our sin, surrender to Him and accept by faith what He has accomplished for us (Acts 2:38). Christ Himself declares that we have been made righteous in His sight (2 Cor. 5:21). Therefore because of His resurrection, no one can stand against us (Rom. 8:31). Because of the resurrection we have been made more than conquerors in Christ (Rom. 8:37). And because of the resurrection, no matter how dark our sin has been, we (the redeemed) have been declared Not Guilty!
Hallelujah! Praise His Holy Name!

James W. Black

Tag: salvation