Impact 2024-5-Going Home With Christ!

Introduction

This has been a great week. And tonight, as we begin to close out camp, I want you to begin thinking about what you have learned through our times together. Then think about the morning sessions with Greg, Keegan, and Ken. And finally, I want you to think through the afternoon sessions with Lance.

Think about all that God has been teaching you.

As you think about our time together each evening I want to close this week, by leaving you with Hope in the form of a Challenge.

I hope you brought your Bibles with you tonight. A couple of times throughout this week, I’ve mentioned this passage.

If you have your Bibles, turn with me to Romans 7, and we’ll begin reading with verse 18.

To me, Paul was one of the GREATEST Christian that ever lived.

And even though he was a “super Saint” who wrote more books of the New Testament than any other author, He struggled with some of the same things you and I struggle with.

In Romans 7:18 Paul writes:

Romans 7:18 NLT

And I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. I want to do what is right, but I can’t.

Nothing Good Lives In Me

He continues to say,

Romans 7:19 NLT

I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway.

When we get to verse 24, Paul says that his struggle with sin makes him miserable.

Romans 7:24 NLT

Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death?

Who Will Free Me?

All week, I’ve been trying to share with you that no matter what you have done, Jesus work on the cross is good enough to cover the cost of your sin.

I know that every single person in this room has broken God’s law. We looked Wednesday night at Romans 3:23

Romans 3:23 NLT

For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.

There is so much sin in this world that I’ll bet you have broken God’s law today—that’s right I’ll bet you have done something here at camp, that God would consider to be sin!

I can tell you that I have done things this week that God calls sin.

But tonight I want you to know that even with all that you have done, God loves you!

I want you to know that God wants to forgive you!

He wants to forgive you for anything that you have done wrong in the past, and things you have done wrong this week.

Last night, I closed with a challenge. It’s a challenge that is found in Galatians 5:24.

Galatians 5:24 NLT

Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there.

Those who belong to Jesus have nailed two things to the cross of Jesus.

They have nailed their passions to the cross.

They have nailed their sinful nature to the cross.

And when you have nailed your passions and your sinful nature to the cross, you can celebrate the truth of Romans 8:1-2

Romans 8:1–2 NLT

So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death.

Verse 1 tells us that God has forgiven us! He no longer condemns us!

That means that we have been moved from being an enemy of God to being His friend! Look at Colossians 1:21-22

Colossians 1:21–22 NLT

This includes you who were once far away from God. You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions. Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault.

Who put you and me in a right relationship with God (that’s what “reconciled” means)?

Our verse says that God put you in a right relationship with Himself through the work of Jesus on the cross!

Now, look again at verse 2.

Romans 8:2 NLT

And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death.

A companion passage to this verse is found in the book of Philippians. Check out Philippians 2:13

Philippians 2:13 NLT

For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.

Philippians 2:13 LBP

For God is at work within you, helping you want to obey him, and then helping you do what he wants.

So here’s the question:

Question: What is keeping you from experiencing the desire that God gives you to obey Him?

Question: And what is keeping you from experiencing your ability to obey Him?

Tonight, I have a cross up here.

You should be holding a card that you were given as you came into “Cross Training” tonight.

I want you to take that card, and write down anything that is keeping you from living for Jesus.

It could be a sin—something that no one knows about that is consuming or controlling your life.

It could be your desire to please people more than pleasing God.

It could be that your social media image is more important to you that your relationship with God.

For some of you, it could be that hurt that someone else has inflicted upon you, or done to you that is keeping you from trusting in Jesus.

It could be anything!

I want you to take that card and write down on it, anything and everything that may be keeping you from experiencing the FREEDOM that comes from Jesus.

Write down anything that coming back over and over again and condemns you!

Because Jesus hung on the cross and died for you, so that He could say to you, “So now there is NO condemnation!”

So tonight, let me ask you a couple of questions,

Questions: Tonight, are you living with condemnation? Are you condemning yourself?

If you are feeling condemned, then I want you to challenge you to write down on that card what is causing you to experience condemnation.

My prayer has been that you would not take this too lightly.

That you would really do business with God right now.

Question: Are you carrying a burden?

Then write it down!

Question: Are you carrying shame?

Then write it down!

I’m going to ask Danny to come and quietly play and sing as you search your heart and write down ANYTHING that you believe is working against your relationship with God.

And then, when you are ready, when you have written down those things that are keeping you from Jesus, I want to challenge you to come and symbolically place your burdens, your shame on the cross of Jesus.

As you think about these things, I want to take a cue from Ken and share a poem with you.

It was written in 1707 by a preacher named Issac Watts.

Alas! and did my Savior bleed And did my Sov’reign die? Would He devote that sacred head For such a worm as I?

Was it for crimes that I had done He groaned upon the tree? Amazing pity! grace unknown! And love beyond degree!

Well might the sun in darkness hide And shut his glories in, When Christ, the mighty Maker died, For man the creature’s sin.

Thus might I hide my blushing face While His dear cross appears, Dissolve my heart in thankfulness, And melt my eyes to tears.

But drops of grief can ne’er repay The debt of love I owe: Here, Lord, I give myself away, ’Tis all that I can do.

Refrain (Ralph Hudson, 1885 when he added music to the poem and made it into a beloved hymn): At the cross, at the cross where I first saw the light, And the burden of my heart rolled away, It was there by faith I received my sight, And now I am happy all the day!

Let me pray for us,

[Prayer]

then as Danny plays, write down what keeps you from Jesus, and then come, take a piece of tape and symbolically nail it to the cross.

[Music]

[Invitation]