Core Beliefs - The Future - Mark Ralf

Core Beliefs: The Future

Reading:

Acts 1:11

1 In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach 2 until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. 3 After his suffering, he showed himself to these men and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. 4 On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. 5 For John baptised with water, but in a few days you will be baptised with the Holy Spirit.”

6 So when they met together, they asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”

7 He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

9 After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.

10 They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. 11 “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”

Revelation 22:12-16

12 “Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done. 13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.

14 “Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city. 15 Outside are the dogs, those who practise magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practises falsehood.

16 “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star.”

17 The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let him who hears say, “Come!” Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life.

The future

We have arrived at the end of our series on the core beliefs of CCE. I can’t speak for everyone else but it has been wonderful for me to work through what we believe, what we mean by it. It is always hard to put down in a few words what we can know about God and his relationship with us but at the same time this is what other people will want to know about us – what do you believe? And why do you do the things you do?

So over the last 7 weeks we have looked at:

God

Jesus Christ

The Holy Spirit

The Bible

People

Salvation

The Church

This week we come to the last section about the future. This is what our core beliefs says:

The Future

God will bring the world to an end at his appointed time and Jesus will return in person.

Everyone who has ever lived will experience bodily resurrection and all will be judged.

Those who have rejected Jesus as their saviour will suffer eternal separation from God. Only those who have been saved by Christ will enjoy eternal fellowship with God in heaven.

Promises

In our reading you heard Jesus talk about coming back. “I’ll be back!” he is saying to us.

When did you last promise something? I try my very best to keep my promises but as Claire will tell you I am sometimes very poor at getting home when I say I will.

How many times have you promised you’d do something and then never actually done it? With all our best intentions, why don’t we manage to do what we promise?

So the number one question to ask ourselves is: Can I trust the promises of Jesus and this promise in the bible? ”This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven” Acts 1:11

Throughout his life, Jesus proved to his disciples that he was faithful and true. If we believe that Jesus is God, that he lived a sinless life, died in our place and rose again, he can be trusted to do what he has promised. “I’ll be back!” Not a general promise, not nearly completing his promise on time, absolutely guaranteed. “Behold I am coming soon” “I’ll be back!”

Jesus is promising to come again soon, bringing his reward. Notice that he will also decide who will receive his reward (v.12)? Yes there will be rewards in heaven, not just being allowed into heaven to be with God forever. That would be enough but Jesus in his generosity also wants to reward us as well. Do you remember our sessions on generous living and generous giving? We know there are rewards, we cannot take our riches with us to heaven but we can send them on ahead – using what we have to help others, showing the compassion of Christ because of what he has done for us. Jesus is deeply concerned about how we respond in love to the needs of others.

Judgement

Everyone who has ever lived will experience bodily resurrection and all will be judged.

Those who have rejected Jesus as their saviour will suffer eternal separation from God.

Those who wash their robes are allowed to go into the gates of the city while those who don’t stay are kept outside. Let’s clear up a few points here. The clean robes are the robes of those who have been cleaned by the blood of Christ – the blood of the lamb – the perfect sacrifice. Only by washing ourselves in that sacrifice can we be cleaned, forgiven and fit for heaven. By immersing ourselves in the blood of Jesus we are associating ourselves with him. We are seen to be one of his. And we are told to rejoice about this.

In Luke 10:20 when the disciples were so happy that even demons submitted to them in Jesus’ name, Jesus told them to “rejoice because their names are written in heaven”.

The new Jerusalem, the city being described is heaven. It is NOT current day Jerusalem – restored to former glory. God is not doing a “changing rooms” job on the old Jerusalem. He is going to create a New Jerusalem just as he created a perfect garden for his creation. God’s people in God’s place under God’s rule.

Compare it to those who are left outside the city? What are they missing?

Look at Rev 22:1-5:

“Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2 down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. 3 No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. 4 They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. 5 There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.

We have the water of life. The tree of life from the original garden. Healing of nations. The curse of Genesis 3 is gone. Jesus is there and we will serve him, we will see him and we will be marked as his. No darkness for God is light. God’s people are restored to him.

God’s people in God’s place under God’s rule.

So this leaves us with two questions:

1. Since Jesus will return one day, as he promised - “are we ready?”

2. Since we don’t know exactly when Jesus is going to return (all we know is that it will be “soon”) how should we be living our lives?

So, are we ready?

Have you ever been to a surprise party where everyone knew about it but not you? You may have had an idea but you are so thrilled when the door opens and there are all your friends and loved ones there to celebrate with you.

You may have no idea what awaits you, but all your friends do! They have put up the decorations, seen the cake, poured the drinks, smelled the food – all waiting for the celebration.

Jesus does the same for us. He knows about THE PARTY – HEAVEN!.

In Luke 15, he tells three stories. Each story speaks of something lost and of something found. A lost sheep. A lost coin. And a lost son. And at the end of each one, Jesus describes a party, a celebration. The shepherd throws the party for the lost-now-found sheep. The housewife throws a party because of the lost-now-found coin. And the father throws a party in honour of his lost-now-found son.

Three parables, each with a party. Three stories, each with the appearance of the same word: happy. Regarding the shepherd who found the lost sheep, Jesus says: “And when he finds it, he happily puts it on his shoulders and goes home” (vv. 5–6, italics mine). When the housewife finds her lost coin, she announces, “Be happy with me because I have found the coin that I lost” (v. 9, italics mine). And the father of the prodigal son explains to the reluctant older brother, “We had to celebrate and be happy because your brother was dead, but now he is alive. He was lost, but now he is found” (v. 32, italics mine).

Jesus is happiest when the lost are found. For him, no moment compares to the moment of salvation. For our family and friends the celebration has started when they are on the way to the party. The same occurs in heaven. Let one child consent to be dressed in righteousness and begin the journey home and heaven pours the punch, strings the streamers, and throws the confetti. “In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” Luke 15:10

Isaac Air Freight sketch:

How do we explain such joy? It is a bit curious. We aren’t talking about a nation of people or even an army of converts; we’re talking about rejoicing “when one sinner repents.” How could one person create that much excitement?

Did you imagine that our actions have such an impact on heaven? We can live and die and leave no more than an obituary. Most of our lives go largely unnoticed and unrecorded. But according to this verse, when a sinner repents, everything in heaven stops, and every heavenly being celebrates.

Heaven doesn’t throw a party over our other achievements. When we are born, take our first steps, grow up, finish school, graduate, get a job, get promoted, get married, have a baby, retire. When any of these things happen the celestial bubbly seems to stay in the refrigerator. But when someone is converted… it’s different.

Do we share God’s enthusiasm. When you hear of a someone becoming a Christian, being saved, do we celebrate? Is our day made unstoppably fantastic at the news. We may be pleased—but excited? When someone is saved, Jesus has a party – it is the best news possible.

Why do Jesus and his angels rejoice over one repenting person? What can they see that we can’t? Do they know something we don’t? YES. They know what heaven holds. They’ve seen the cake and they’ve heard the music, they have smelled the food and poured the drinks - and they can’t wait to see your face when you arrive.

And better still, when we arrive and enter the party, something wonderful will happen. A final transformation will occur. We will be just like Jesus. 1 John 3:2 Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears,a we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.

We know that when Christ comes again, we will be like him”

An anonymous poet described heaven this way:

Heaven

The light of heaven is the face of Jesus.

The joy of heaven is the presence of Jesus.

The melody of heaven is the Name of Jesus.

The employment of heaven is the service of Jesus.

The harmony of heaven is the praise of Jesus.

The theme of heaven is the work of Jesus.

Heaven is being with Jesus

We will love with a perfect love.

We will worship with a radiant face.

We will hear each word God speaks.

Our hearts will be pure. We will be just like Jesus.

No wonder the angels rejoice when one sinner repents – they know what a wonderful treat is in store.

There is yet another reason for the celebration. Yes we are on our way to the party – we are headed to heaven but we are also saved from something else.

One phrase summarizes the horror of hell. “God isn’t there.”

What if God weren’t here on earth?

You think people can be cruel now, imagine us without the presence of God.

You think we are brutal to each other now, imagine the world without the Holy Spirit.

You think there is loneliness and despair and guilt now, imagine life without the touch of Jesus.

No forgiveness. No hope. No acts of kindness. No words of love.

What would the world be like without God - In a word, hell.

No one to comfort you and no music to soothe you. No love, no hope. You’ve probably heard the phrase: the “weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matt. 22:13). From hell comes a cries and moan of those who did not make the only choice that was important.

That’s why the angels rejoice when one sinner repents. Jesus knows what awaits the saved. He also knows what the eternal separation from God that awaits those who reject him.

When the Titanic sank, 2200 people ended up in the Atlantic. On shore the names of the passengers were posted in two simple columns — saved and lost. God’s list is equally simple.

All the things we care about won’t matter. Is he rich? Is she pretty? What work does he do? What colour is her skin? Does she have a degree? Does he have children? Did she do something very bad? Did he do something shameful?

All this doesn’t matter – the only thing that counts is have you been saved by Christ?

And so the challenge is simple. We ought to ask God to help us have his eternal view of the world. Every person you meet has been given an invitation to dinner. When one says yes, celebrate! And when one acts sluggish we need to encourage them to come to the party. We know it’s almost time for the party, and you don’t want them to miss it.

So what is your answer to:

Since Jesus will return one day, as he promised - “are you ready?”

And the second question was:

Since we don’t know exactly when Jesus is going to return (all we know is that it will be “soon”) how should we be living our lives?

Hebrews 12:1 says “let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us”

We have a healthrider exercise machine, it gathers dust and Claire and I put things on top of it every so often. If we used it we might get a lot fitter. I had a rowing machine. I eventually sold it because I wasn’t using it – it was just taking up space.

I have some CDs that promised to teach me Spanish. They are very good – at least the first 2 were and then I stopped. If I practiced they would probably work.

Not everything in my life is half finished. But I don’t always finish what I start.

Do you have unfinished things in your life? Things you started in all good faith but well….

And let’s not even talk about dieting!

It’s one thing to start something. It’s something else to finish it.

Now I am not going to pile on the guilt and get you to finish everything you start.

To be honest, I don’t think we should finish everything we start although my children would like to hear me say that about their homework.

Some things are best left undone, some projects wisely abandoned.

My point is to encourage us to finish the right thing.

Getting fit, doing the gym, learning Spanish are all worthy but optional.

Other things are essential—like the race of faith.

“Let us run the race that is before us and never give up” (Heb. 12:1).

THE RACE

The word race is from the Greek agon, from which we get the word agony. The Christian’s race is not a jog, it’s a demanding, grueling, sometimes agonizing race. It takes a massive effort to finish strong.

Lots of people don’t finish strongly. Do you remember Paula Radcliffe at the Olympics? She was heartbroken because she couldn’t go on. And she stopped. She was at the front. She was on the pace. But then weariness set in. She didn’t imagine the race would be that tough.

Sometimes runners are discouraged by a bump and daunted by a fellow runner. Whatever the reason, they don’t run anymore. They may be Christians. They may come to church. They may put money into the collection and warm a seat for a while, but their hearts aren’t in the race. They retired before their time. They don’t finish the race.

By contrast, Jesus’ best work was his final work, and his strongest step was his last step. Jesus is our example of one who endured. Jesus endured the horrible agony of his death on the cross in our place. Why?

Look at Hebrews 12v2:

² Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

In his final moments, Jesus focused on the joy God put before him. He focused on the prize of heaven – rescuing us for heaven. By focusing on the prize, he was able not only to finish the race but to finish it strongly.

So regardless of whether I have a flat stomach, have learned Spanish or have been to the gym, we need to finish the only race that matters.

Then we can take our place at the party table.

Where we will be invited to take our rest with God - because the work is finally finished.

Jesus and his people will be together, in the place he has prepared for us, living under his rule.

The Future

God will bring the world to an end at his appointed time and Jesus will return in person.

Everyone who has ever lived will experience bodily resurrection and all will be judged.

Those who have rejected Jesus as their saviour will suffer eternal separation from God. Only those who have been saved by Christ will enjoy eternal fellowship with God in heaven.

We will be seated, and Christ will christen the meal with these words from Matthew 25:23, “Well done, good and faithful servant”.

And in that moment, the race will have been worth it.

Amen

Core Beliefs - People - Mark Ralf

Core Beliefs: People

Reading: Romans 3:5-23

⁵ But if our unrighteousness brings out God’s righteousness more clearly, what shall we say? That God is unjust in bringing his wrath on us? (I am using a human argument.) ⁶ Certainly not! If that were so, how could God judge the world? ⁷ Someone might argue, “If my falsehood enhances God’s truthfulness and so increases his glory, why am I still condemned as a sinner?” ⁸ Why not say—as we are being slanderously reported as saying and as some claim that we say—“Let us do evil that good may result”? Their condemnation is deserved.

⁹ What shall we conclude then? Are we any better? Not at all! We have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under sin. ¹⁰ As it is written:

“There is no-one righteous, not even one;

¹¹ there is no-one who understands, no-one who seeks God.

¹² All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no-one who does good,

not even one.”

¹³ “Their throats are open graves; their tongues practise deceit.” “The poison of vipers is on their lips.”

¹⁴ “Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.”

¹⁵ “Their feet are swift to shed blood;

¹⁶ ruin and misery mark their ways, ¹⁷ and the way of peace they do not know.”

¹⁸ “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

¹⁹ Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. ²⁰ Therefore no-one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin.

²¹ But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. ²² This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, ²³ for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, ²⁴ and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.

SLIDE 1 – TITLE

Welcome everyone again as we continue to look at our core beliefs as a church

God

Jesus Christ

The Holy Spirit

The Bible

People

Salvation

The Church

The Future

We are at the halfway point.

So far we have looked at God, Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit and the Bible.

Today we are going to look at our core beliefs about People.

Over the next three Sundays we will also look at Salvation, the Church and the Future.

So what does our core belief statement say about people?

SLIDE 2 – Core beliefs

People

· All men and women are created in the image of God and have equal dignity, worth and accountability.

· God created people to have fellowship with him, but we have all defied him and incurred his anger by sinfully going our own way.

· Each person therefore needs to be forgiven and reconciled to God, in order to be restored to fellowship with him.

LET’S HAVE A QUICK LOOK AT THE THREE STATEMENTS.

NOTICE AS YOU READ THEM:

The first statement is about us. What we are, what our origins are, and how we should view and treat one another and also what we should expect from one another.

The second statement is looking at us the way that God looks at us. He created us but we have each turned our backs on him and he is rightfully angry.

The third statement is our desperate need to get right with God again. Our defiance has created a breakdown in relationship with God. We need help and restoration.

THESE ARE OUR CORE BELIEFS ABOUT PEOPLE

My job this morning is to astound you, terrify you, and depress you – not the normal job of the preacher here at Christ Church.

I want to astound you with the wonder of what God has done for us.

I want to terrify you when we explore what we have done to God

And I want to depress you with the huge gap that has opened up between God and us.

So this week is only part 1 of the story.

Please, please, please be here next week and hear Norman tell us the marvellous news of what God has done to restore us to that place of wonder, repair the impact of what we have done and restore us to himself through Jesus. But that is next week.

SLIDE 3 - first half of top 2

SO LET’S START WITH THE FIRST STATEMENT AND THE FIRST PART OF THE SECOND STATEMENT:

· All men and women are created in the image of God and have equal dignity, worth and accountability.

· God created people to have fellowship with him…

Let’s think about Genesis chapter 2 where God creates man and woman.

They are to be God’s people – made in his image.

They are set in God’s perfect place – the garden made for them, perfectly adapted to their needs.

In that garden they are to live under God’s rule.

There is harmony, work is good and fulfilling, and there is a wonderful relationship with God. God’s people in God’s place under God’s rule.

It is a marvellous world, but it is a lost world.

Why is it lost?

We know that God loves his creation – he said it was very good. He was intimately involved in their lives and cared for them.

Because we are created in the image of God we know we are not worthless. We bear the stamp of our maker. If I take off my ring, I can see the stamp of the maker. The badge on most cars tells you who made it. We bear the marks of our maker too.

We are unique, every one of us. We are created in his image and we are loved by him.

Not loved the way I love Claire and she loves me. I only met Claire after I was twenty one.

God knew us and loved us before we were born. The hairs on our heads are numbered – an increasingly easy job in my case as the years go on!

Every individual is loved by God. Not just the lovely. Not just the rich or those with resources. God loves the starving and those dying with Aids just as much as he loves you and me.

Isn’t that amazing?

It’s very easy to love the likeable people. But the old, the dying, the diseased, the starving? That’s harder.

God also made us free. Man and woman could choose to be obedient or to defy god in the garden. But they are accountable for their actions and so are we.

We bear the mark of the creator and some of that brilliance comes shining through in creativity, technology and ingenuity.

But we are also accountable for what we do.

The human hands that made penicillin also made the atomic bomb. The humans that give birth and nurture precious life can also kill, maim and destroy.

We are responsible and accountable for what we do – each one of us.

It is a marvellous and confusing world, but it is a lost world.

Why?

SLIDE 4 – Second half of top 2

THIS BRINGS US TO THE “BUT” IN THE SECOND OF OUR CORE BELIEFS

· God created people to have fellowship with him,

BUT

· we have all defied him and incurred his anger by sinfully going our own way.

WHAT HAS GONE WRONG?

We have defied him. Our reading said “There is no difference (between any of us – we are all the same) for ALL have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”

Well that’s a bit heavy isn’t it.

I mean this is Ewell and we all reasonably nice people – aren’t we?

No mass murderers here – I think?

SLIDE

Really bad people have turned from God. The Sept 11^th bombers, Harold Shipman, Fred and Rosemary West. Hitler, Sadaam Hussein. They are really evil. But surely not us?

Well what about us? We don’t want to add our name to that list, so we. Compared to them we must be better, surely. (CLICK FOR SLIDE REVEAL)

Well no. For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of god.

SLIDE

If you remember the two talks I gave on Generous Living and Generous Giving, I showed a video about the Countess of Huntingdon who had a significant impact in eighteenth century England. This is what the Dowager Duchess of Buckingham wrote to her:

“I thank your ladyship for the information concerning the Methodist preachers.

Their doctrines are most repulsive and strongly tinctured with impertinence and disrespect before their superiors, in perpetually endeavouring to level all ranks

and do away with all distinction. It is monstrous to be told you have a heart as

sinful as the common wretches that crawl on the earth. This is highly offensive.”

SLIDE

This quote comes from the book, “Cross Examined” by Mark Meynell, published by IVP.

It is a very good book about the central place of the cross in God’s plan for us all.

Yes it is offensive – to be confronted for the first time with our defiance before God, sinfully going our own way and incurring God’s anger. To recognise that each one of us has pushed God away and tried to go it alone – we have defied the true King.

However monstrous and offensive it is to be confronted with the fact, it is true.

Otherwise why can’t we love the ones we claim to love?

Why can’t people and businesses stay honest and truthful?

Why can’t we treat people fairly?

SLIDE

Lets look a little earlier in Romans chapter 1 v18

¹⁸ The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, ¹⁹ since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them.

Every day we refuse to recognise God as our ruler in his world – every day our actions show that we don’t love him and we are in rebellion. And God is angry with us.

As we push Jesus to the edge of our lives as we seize centre stage for ourselves God is rightly and justly angry.

God’s anger is not like the temper tantrum of the terrible two year old.

God’s anger is not the trauma of the turbulent teenager

God’s anger is not like a selfish film star who sulks when they don’t get the attention they want.

God’s anger is not the insanity of road rage – recently a local man whom Claire & I know got involved in some road rage at a local dump. The other driver came over pulled his arm out of the car and broke it. Several days later he died.

God’s anger is not impetuous and uncontrolled like that

God’s anger is a steady, unrelenting, uncompromising hatred of our refusal to recognise him as God in his world.

So as we push him further and further to the fringes of our thinking, God is angry.

As we drive all mention of his Son out of our homes and our places of work, God is angry.

As we are embarrassed to speak openly about our creator for fear of ridicule, God is angry.

It is a consistent theme in the Bible – old and new

· When Adam and Eve refuse to accept God’s rule in the garden, he curses them and throws them out.

· When God’s people reject his rule in the land, he curses them and throws them out.

· God’s anger towards our attitude to Jesus and his rule is one of steady anger.

· In the New Testament, Jesus says in the Sermon on the Mount “For the gate is wide and way is easy that leads to destruction”.

· He also says “Whoever does not obey the son shall not see life but the wrath of God remains on him” says Jesus

God is utterly pure and totally holy and he hates our rebellious attitude and his anger burns against our rebellion towards him

This has to be right doesn’t it? Can God be less than pure and holy?

Can he be a bit condoning of rebellion, a little tolerant of evil, turning a blind eye to wrong-doing?

What kind of Holy God would that be? A bit second rate.

No, God is holy and pure – he is not a mockery of God, he not a shabby parody of a holy God.

I have stressed God’s anger – very strongly because it so often left out, or skipped over when we present the gospel and especially when we talk about the perilous state that we are in and why Jesus came to die.

We all love to hear about the God who loves us – and he does.

He loves his creation so much - even in the full knowledge of what we would do and how we would behave and he put in place the rescue plan so that we can be reconciled to him.

But we cannot ignore his anger – it is real.

We need rescuing. There is no doubt.

SLIDE

We know that we do wrong. Even when we want to do right.

Listen to Romans 7v21

²¹ So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. ²² For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; ²³ but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. ²⁴ What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? ²⁵ Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!

So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin

Most of us feel the same in our lives, don’t we?

We can’t get to God on our own and we only have to disobey once!

That’s all the devil has ever wanted.

He wants to tempt us as he tempted Adam and Eve in the garden to put themselves first, deny God and push God to the edge of their lives while they take centre stage. The same temptation we face. When we fail as each of us does, we need rescuing.

SLIDE

Did you hear the news of the tragic fire in Stevenage? Where two firemen lost their lives re-entering a building to rescue someone?

Not mentioning the anger of God would be the same as the fireman never mentioning that the building from which he is trying to rescue people is on fire and they are in danger.

Imagine the fire is on the ground floor and the fireman goes to the 10^th floor and opens up the window and calls out “get onto my ladder and I’ll take you away”. They’ll look at him and ask him why? If the fireman replies, “well I really like you and we think it would be a good idea”. As the building goes up in smoke, they would be cursing the fireman “why didn’t you tell us the danger we were in?”

If we don’t consider the anger of god and our rebellion we are saying that Jesus’ death doesn’t matter.

SLIDE

LET’S LOOK AT THE THIRD STATEMENT

· Each person therefore needs to be forgiven and reconciled to God, in order to be restored to fellowship with him.

So we definitely need rescuing

We need to be forgiven and brought back to fellowship with God

but where is that rescue going to come from?

SLIDE

God may be angry but he still loves us.

Listen to 1 John 4:10

¹⁰ This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son…”

The initiative is all God’s – it’s his idea, he sent his son.

SLIDE

And again in John 3:16

¹⁶ “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁷ For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

God loved us before we sinned. God loves us even though we have sinned.

Even though we have failed, even though we continue to fail, God loves us and sent his Son to rescue us. God is not reluctant to help us.

God knows we deserve his anger but because he loves us he sends his Son to satisfy his anger by pouring out all his anger on himself – in the form of God the Son - Jesus.

But we continue to do what the devil wants: to reject God’s rule.

We are in the grip and under the rule of God’s enemy

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Later in John we see in chapter 8verse 34

“³⁴ Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin.

We are enslaved to God’s enemy.

When we push Jesus to the fringe of our lives - we are enslaved to God’s enemy.

When we try to push Jesus out of our lives - -we are enslaved to God’s enemy.

So if we reject Jesus, whose side are we on?

We need rescuing from slavery to sin and we can’t save ourselves – we need to accept God’s rescue plan.

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What are our Core Beliefs about People?

· All men and women are created in the image of God and have equal dignity, worth and accountability.

· God created people to have fellowship with him, but we have all defied him and incurred his anger by sinfully going our own way.

· Each person therefore needs to be forgiven and reconciled to God, in order to be restored to fellowship with him.

These are true for every person.

Through God, we are made for a purpose, we are valued, we are loved but we have to choose for ourselves whom we will serve.

Forgiveness and reconciliation is free from God.

We can enjoy fellowship with God again but we have to choose.

SLIDE – auto music

This song by Bob Dylan from his first Christian album expresses this very well – You’ve got to serve somebody

Bob Dylan song:

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• You may be an ambassador to England or France, You may like to gamble, you might like to dance, You may be the heavyweight champion of the world, You may be a socialite with a long string of pearls

• You might be a rock 'n' roll addict prancing on the stage, You might have drugs at your command, women in a cage, You may be a business man or some high degree thief, They may call you Doctor or they may call you Chief

– But you're gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed You're gonna have to serve somebody, Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord But you're gonna have to serve somebody.

SLIDE for second verse – then sound down.

Let’s pray