Jesus' Gift

Genesis 2:1-3 “Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.”

Introduction:

To conclude the days of creation Day 7 God finished His work and rested:

He transferred oversight to Adam and Eve allowing them the opportunity to have dominion and multiply.

God was finished creating. Nothing else was created. All that was: IS.

God blessed the seventh day (the whole day, not things He created)

Notice that God didn’t create anything on day 7, He only deemed it Holy and dedicated it to be used for taking a rest.

That should be the same outline that we follow in our lives:

Observe the “Holy Day” and allow rest!

A day that you rest in the Lord, focused on praising the Lord.

This is what we are partaking in today, Rest!

A day we focus, individually and collectively on our savior and praising Him and exulting Him to one another and challenging one another by His word.

There is another thing that we will be going into for the month of November

Thankfulness.

November will be a month of thanks.

Among our “natural laws” is one that deals with Action and Reaction.

This is when an action is done there is a equal but opposite reaction.

Examples:

The person jumping on a diving board.

legs push down, board flexes; Board pushes back, person flings into the air.

Simple.

We have the action of one person that stirs up a reaction in every person.

Transition:

Salvation is described as a gift from God. As children when someone gives us something we are taught to express appreciation, or at minimum say thank you. Jesus, the almighty creator, has provided:

The Gift

It is easy to know what that gift is. The gift of salvation. (God extending Grace to us)

Grace is described as: undeserved acceptance and love received from another.

Titus 2:11 “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people,”

Titus 2:14 “who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.”

Transition:

Verses :11 and verse :14 are an close up view of the gift.

A. Why He made a gift:

John 3:16 ““For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”

God loved His creation that no longer had a way of knowing Him or communicating with Him.

He desired us!

God revealed this plan through the O.T. sacrifices.

Yet in Christ all sacrifices are completed.

Hebrews 10:1-10

For since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year, make perfect those who draw near. Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, since the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have any consciousness of sins? But in these sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year. For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said,“Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired,but a body have you prepared for me; in burnt offerings and sin offerings you have taken no pleasure. Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come to do your will, O God,as it is written of me in the scroll of the book.’ ” When he said above, “You have neither desired nor taken pleasure in sacrifices and offerings and burnt offerings and sin offerings” (these are offered according to the law), then he added, “Behold, I have come to do your will.” He does away with the first in order to establish the second. And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

The sacrifices were finished through His “worthy” sacrifice.

It was Once and For All!

Illustration:

This last summer we bought a small blow up pool. With a blow up pool I had a concern.

What if it gets a hole? Patch it! (temporary fix)

How many times have we patched blow up pools, bike tires, etc… knowing that temporary patch’s fail.

Every time we fix something filled with air it is a temporary fix. Unless it is created again it cannot be new it is only patched.

Point:

The sacrifices of the Old Testament were temporary fixes to an eternal problem.

The shadow was cast in the O.T.; Jesus fulfilled the law through Christ’s sacrifice.

*He extended a gift for the re-newel of a person.

Transition:

God’s Love towards us was His motivating factor.

He didn’t hesitate.

He loved us; He followed through and:

B. Showed His love:

Romans 5:8 “but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

We can know the definition of Love and even tell someone about it.

How do people learn to love?

They learn how to love by watching, listening, and practicing what they learn.

1 Corinthians 13:1-2 “If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.”

Transition:

Jesus’ love wasn’t just something He talked about; He showed it to us through laying down His life for His enemies!

Romans 5:8 “but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

This action was:

C. The Extension:

Romans 8:32 “He who did not spare is own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?”

Jesus Showed His love and He wasn’t just leaving us His example.

*He extended His love to us like a wrapped gift; waiting for us to respond and open it!

Acts 16:30-31 “Then he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.””

Believe and live!

Transition:

It is easy to say: believe and live.

If someone is made new and are redeemed by the gift of Christ, how are they to live this new life in faith by trusting Christ?

This is where we have passages for us to shine the light on living:

The Life

Titus 2:12 “training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age,”

When we accept the will of the Lord, it begins with His will for us to have a relationship with Him.

Then zooms in a little closer which would be what we call living out our faith day in and day out.

That is our:

A. Training.

Matthew 28:19-20 “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.””

Our commanded purpose as a church is to:

Make disciples; then the command states the how.

Teach them.

Illustration:

My children have a job, which is the same job I had at their age.

It is full time,

They get paid,

They don’t have any employees; but do have employers.

They are to perform well in their education, their job pays out dividends.

Point:

Their job is to be trained for what God will use them for later in life.

Without the needed training they wouldn’t succeed in what ministry God has for them. It is necessary.

Transition:

That is no different than every believer.

We all need the training for how to live our life in faith and trust of God’s will and by His word.

That training starts with:

B. Removal of self.

Titus 2:12 “training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age,”

What does it mean to renounce something?

Renounce:

“To disown; to disclaim; to reject; as a title or claim; to refuse to own or acknowledge as belonging to; as, to renounce a title to land or a claim to reward; to renounce all pretensions to applause.” Noah Webster 1828

This is a public announcement!

Proclamation through speech.

Exemplifying through public choices.

? What is to be publicly disowned?

Ungodliness and Worldly passions.

What is ungodliness?

The state of believing in God, while adopting a lifestyle which seems to deny it.

Illustration:

This type of person would be one who likens their knowledge of God’s word to spiritual maturity.

It would be a person who attributes their membership in the church to security of salvation.

This would be the person who says they have a spiritual mind and life; yet their character and conduct, lifestyles don’t line up with that.

Point:

Believers need to be real, and authentic; not fake deceiving themselves about their spiritual growth.

Unfortunately there will be a great number of people who don’t renounce ungodliness as the day of the rapture nears.

2 Timothy 3:1-5 “But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.”

Guard yourselves against taking this position!

Don’t have the position of believing with your lifestyle being contrary!

Obey the word, let it guide your convictions.

Transition:

The convictions that you have should be what dictates what you will do or don’t do.

This is the application for our:

C. Self-Control.

Titus 2:12 “training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age,”

Self Control is what the Bible teaches as something very difficult and can be destructive when not practiced.

Proverbs 25:28 “A man without self-control is like a city broken into and left without walls.”

Galatians 5:22-24 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.”

Point:

The aspects that make up a whole being are the:

Mind

Body

Spirit

How could someone have control over those areas?

Mind: By the trusting and obeying of God’s word and transforming your mind by the renewing through the word.

Body: Submitting your body to the Lord to be a vessel of Holiness denying the fleshly desires.

Spirit: The “Quickened” spirit or alive spirit responds to the direction of the Lord; respond to the spirit’s leading! Be led by the spirit.

We are all responsible for practicing self-control of our whole being under what is Godly!

Transition:

We desire to live a self controlled, upright, and godly life.

The reality is that we strive to do this each day; but we can be truthful and admit that it’s not possible by our own strength.

That doesn’t mean we stop trying, we must continue striving to live the spiritual life.

The comforting part is that I know one day the struggle will end.

But that’s:

The Hope

Titus 2:13 “waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ,”

The hope is that one day Jesus will come again in all His Glory, Might, Power, and Authority.

When He does come this second time He will not be the suffering servant or sacrificial lamb.

He will be the conquering King who establishes His throne and will sit upon it ruling.

Which in turn will change the world.

It will change from the sin cursed world.

All the curses handed out back in Genesis will be rescinded and everything will be reconciled back to God’s perfect creation once again.

?How will we know when that is?

At the appearing of Jesus Christ!

Matthew 24:44 “Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”

Acts 1:11 “and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.””

Hebrews 9:28 “so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.”

*We are promised that Christ will come again.

In the manner of ruling King and we are His children who are spared from His Righteous judgment!

Those who aren’t His children (the unsaved/not redeemed) will take their deserved punishments. Cast into Hell for all eternity because they didn’t believe.

That is the hope that we live for.

Christ is coming again to be the King who judges all sin.

Praise the Lord He already judged my sin on the Cross and yours, if you accept His gift.

Transition:

The God of all creation has redeemed my soul!

He spared me from His righteous judgment in the last days!

Conclusion:

This is the Gift which we can all be thankful for.

There was a payment made for every soul.

This is the action of a loving God. To show His love for us, by extending to us through His outstretched arms, a gift to be accepted.

Redemption/Salvation.

Point:

We should express our thankfulness each and every day that we are given something that we don’t deserve through the action of Jesus.

Be Thankful and show gratitude every day.