The Best News

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Well, good morning!

Thank you so much for having me this morning…it’s always a privilege to speak here…to spend time with you guys. Thank you to your teachers…Mr. McCurdy…Mikayla…thank you guys for inviting me and thank you for giving me this time.

Listen, as I was preparing…I really sought the Lord in prayer. I thought what can I give these students that would, one, glorify God and make the gospel known…and two, what could I give you that would really help you understand the gospel and communicate it more effectively.

I know your theme this year, its ‘piercing the darkness’ out of Matthew 5:16…being a light in this dark world, right? But let’s be honest for just a minute…like we hear that all the time, right? Like if you go to church, your pastor, he probably tells you a lot to be the light…to advance the gospel…to tell others about Jesus. That’s how we’re a light, right? But like, that sounds a whole lot easier said than done.

Listen, when I was starting to really grow in my walk with Jesus…God gave me this opportunity to share with someone I worked with. And listen, it was the very first time I had ever shared the gospel with someone else. It was scary and guys, it was bad. I mean it was really really bad. I’m not even sure I talked about Jesus…But I talked about Cain and Abel…I talked about Moses and the golden calf incident…I talked about David and Bathsheba…I mean, I literally talked to this guy for like 2 hours and at the end of it all, I was sure I just sealed this guys fate. I was sure, I just sent this guy to hell single-handedly.

But guys listen, when we got into my truck that night, to go to our hotel…he looked over at me with tears in his eyes…and he told me, “I’m ready to turn to Jesus.”…and he did, right there in my truck. I’m not sure how he got Jesus from my gospel presentation…but by golly, he heard the gospel, he understood it, and he was saved that night. Of course, I learned a very valuable lesson…I don’t do the saving…I’m just called to share and let God do the rest. But guys, after that night, I was determined to never have another experience like that…I was determined to make the most of the opportunities God gave me. And from that point on, I devoted myself to studying His Word…learning about it so that I could communicate it better…which led me to become a pastor later.

But guys listen, I know there’s some of you out there, you hear these things like be a light…or share the gospel…and you want to so badly but you just don’t know how…the Bible seems so complicated. It seemed so old and outdated…it seems like its something way to large to understand. But listen, what if I could help you break up God’s Word into 4 parts?…What if I could help you see the gospel in 4 parts? Would that make it easier?

I’m convinced that more students aren’t engaging their friends and family, not because they don’t want to, but because they don’t know how to.

Listen, everything you need to know about the Bible…everything you need to know about the gospel, it can be broken up into four parts. That’s what’s on the card I gave each of you. It’s bad news, worse news, good news, and best news! That’s it.

And so listen, that’s all I wanna do this morning, to go over what each of these are.

And so, with that…let’s look at this first thing.

If you have your card, just follow along with me.

I. Bad News

Romans 6:23, it tells us that our sin, it’s separates us from God, right?

Part of understanding the gospel message, its understanding the bad parts of it. The bad part of the gospel, its that every single human-being, we’re all sinful…and the consequences of sin, its death. Romans 6:23, right?

Romans 6:23 (CSB)

For the wages of sin is death...

Guys, you know the story of Adam and Eve…God gave ‘em everything…He gave ‘em everything they needed to live…everything they needed to be happy. He walked with ‘em…He had a very personal relationship with ‘em. And the Bible, in Genesis chapter 3, it says they rebelled against God…they wanted to be just like God…they wanted to be better and greater than God…they thought they knew better than God.

And listen, Romans 5:12 says:

Romans 5:12 (CSB)

Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, in this way death spread to all people, because all sinned.

And so, listen, the bad news of the gospel…the bad news that the Bible communicates…its that all people are sinners, right? All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23).

That’s the bad part. And listen, understand that you can’t get to the good parts without understanding and acknowledging the bad parts, right?

II. Worse News

But there’s even worse news…the second point on your card.

Ephesians 2:8 says:

Ephesians 2:8 (CSB)

For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift—

Meaning, only God can save us from this dilemma we face.

Some people, they think, “Well, I’ll just wait until I’m older and then I’ll turn to Jesus…then I’ll worry about God,” like somehow they can just make that decision whenever they want. But guys, Romans 3:11 tells us, “that none seek God.”

That’s literally the worse part of our problem, right? It’s not that we’re sinners, its that, according to the Bible, there’s nothing we can do to save us from ourselves.

And so, the bad part of the gospel is that we’re sinners…and the worse part, its that there’s nothing we can do about it on our own!

But look at this third thing.

III. Good News

First John 1:7, it says:

1 John 1:7 (CSB)

If we walk in the light as he himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.

Listen guys, at the cross…Jesus did for us what we couldn’t do for ourselves. He died on a cross and He shed His blood to pay for our sins. John says, “the blood of Jesus, it cleanses us from all sin,” right?

And listen, the good news of the gospel…its that Jesus isn’t just any man…Jesus is God. That’s what John says in his gospel.

John 1:1 (CSB)

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

John 1:14 (CSB)

The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.

God came to us…He became the very thing He created. He came to us…He lived a perfect live…He died for us, as a man…paying for man’s sins…He died for us…taking on His own wrath as the perfect sacrifice, as God Himself…satisfying His own justice.

And through Jesus, we can be reconciled…restored. That’s the good news of the gospel…that’s the good news that the Bible communicates to us. It’s that God didn’t leave us in our broken state…He had a plan, from the foundation of the world, to save us from ourselves through Himself!

But listen, that’s not even the best news of the gospel.

IV. Best News

Look at your card…the best news…its that its all a free gift. God doesn’t require anything from us. We don’t have to be good enough…we don’t have to clean ourselves up to come to Him…we don’t have to do certain things to be saved. The Bible says its all a free gift.

Romans 6:23 (the verse we started with). It says:

Romans 6:23 (CSB)

For the wages of sin is death, BUT the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

The free gift of God, its eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord. The Bible says all we have to do, its turn to God…which is what repentance means…its just a change of mind…a change of mind from following the world…and a change of mind to follow Jesus…its to simply believe that Jesus is Lord and that He rose from the dead. That’s what Romans 10:9 tells us. It’s all a free gift.

Testimony

Listen, understanding the Bible…sharing the gospel, its simple.

The bad news…we’re all sinners and the consequence of that sin, its death. The worse news…there’s nothing we can do about that on our own. The good news…its that Jesus came to save us from our sin. And listen, the best news, its that, its all a free gift.

And so listen, let me share my testimony with you guys using the bad, worse, good, best strategy.

When I was younger…my parents went through a really nasty divorce. And guys, it was hard. I became angry…I was bitter…I couldn’t understand why a good and loving God would let me walk through something like that. But listen, as I went to church, I heard the gospel for the very first time and I started to really understand what it was saying. My parent’s marriage didn’t work because we’re all sinners, right? They didn’t know Jesus and they could’ve love each other because they didn’t really know love themselves. They were sinners…and I realized, there wasn’t anything they could do about that on their own. They refused to turn to Jesus…and their lives, they were train wrecks.

But listen, as I listened to the gospel…I began to understand there’s another way…there’s a better way…there’s a greater example than what my parents were showing me. You see, I heard the gospel and I began to realize who Jesus was and why exactly He came. He was God, who took on flesh…He became like us so that He could die for us…because of our sins. And listen, all my life…I thought I had to be some good person…I never felt worthy enough, good enough…I never felt I was lovable enough…and the gospel, it was telling me that I didn’t need to be any of those things because Jesus made me those things because of the work He did. I realized God was giving me a completely free gift. And guys, God changed everything about me…and I am who I am today because of Jesus. I’m completely different than that 15 year old kid that was confused and broken and angry.

And listen, that’s the message of the Bible. God offers the same exact thing to you. Recognize the bad parts…that you’re a sinner…that your sin, it leads to death. Recognize the worse parts…that there’s nothing you can do about it on your own…Recognize the good parts…that Jesus is God and that He came to take on your sins with His death…and recognize the best parts…that it’s all a free gift.

And so listen, I don’t know all of you. Maybe you’ve already turned to Jesus and He’s changed everything about you and all you needed was a simple way to communicate the gospel to those around you…to be the light, right? Then guys, use this to share with others. Pray for those around you and share.

But listen, maybe you’re sitting there and you’ve never turned to Jesus and you wanna make that decision today. Know that you’re a sinner and understand that your sin leads to death. But understand that Jesus isn’t just any man, He’s God and His death completely and entirely dealt with your sin. Confess with your mouth that He’s Lord and believe in your heart that He raised from the death and this free gift can be yours. It’s that simple. And so, my challenge to you, make that decision today…talk to someone…talk to me…talk to a teacher. Make that decision today.

Let me pray for you.