Session #7 Redemption — The Rescue Is Real
Notes
Transcript
Our Response
Our Response
Hey Campers!!
Man it has been a jam packed week this week hey?
I want you guys to whisper to someone next or behind what your favorite part of this week was?
Friends tonight, I need your full attention… because this is the most important topic we will talk about all week.
I need everyones attention for this session..
Today is kind of a heavy topic, but it is one that we all need to hear… Today i was trying to figure out how exactly to talk about what we are going to talk about.. and it was tough…But i hope i can share what God has put on my heart today and that it makes sense.
Today we are going to talk about this word called..
Redemption.
That word might sound big or churchy… but I promise, it’s personal. And it’s real.
This is what Redemption means. - The recapture of precious goods..
Jesus took all of our sin, and shame to the cross, He paid the ransom, and redeemed
He didn’t just die. He rose again. And that changed everything.
1. Jesus Rose – The Rescue Is Complete
1. Jesus Rose – The Rescue Is Complete
Let’s open God’s Word to the book of 1 Corintians, it is in the new testament.
For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles,
Jesus really died. Jesus didn’t stay in the grave. He rose again, Jesus defeated death and he rose again, showing again that he is Fully God. Only God could raise himself from the dead.
This isn’t just a nice story. It’s a moment in history. Eyewitnesses saw it. There are 4 gospels in the bible (Matt,Mark,Luke, John) that all confirm that Jesus Christ died on the cross, and rose from the dead.
After Jesus rose, people Touched Him. Ate with Him. And then they watched him ascend back into heaven where he is seated right now at the right hand of God.
Jesus defeated death.. And he still lives today..
If you have your bibles , we are going to do another last sword drill!.. You guys ready!
Ephesians 2:1–5
Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins.
You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil—the commander of the powers in the unseen world. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God.
All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature we were subject to God’s anger, just like everyone else.
Inciting Incident:
You and I were spiritually dead because of sin. We all were slaves to sin, and we all had passiontate sinful desires that we follow, each and everyone of us shoouldve been recieving God’s wrath or the punishment for our sins…
But God, who is rich in mercy, because of his great love that he had for us,
made us alive with Christ even though we were dead in trespasses. You are saved by grace!
But God… Who is Rich in Mercy… Becasue of his great Love….Saved us by his Grace…
Friends This isn’t just a story.
This is real, Jesus died the death that we all deserved. We all deserved the punishment for sin..
So what does that mean? What do i do now with all of this information?..
Not even the information from today, but all that we have learned this week.
2. What It Takes to Follow Jesus
2. What It Takes to Follow Jesus
Now that Jesus has risen, and we know that Jesus is God, we know that we are made in the image of God, but that we are sinners in need of a saviour, and our saviour jesus died, but now he rose again?
We have learned all of this.. but what do we do?
In Romans 10:9 it says
If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
Friends i want to be carefuly here. Following Jesus is not just a one time prayer..
It is not :
Saying some words and moving on.
believing because your friend does.
Fire insurance for the afterlife.
Following Jesus is a heart posture:
Friends it is not just saying a prayer and going back to life like nothing changed.
Then he said to them all, “If anyone wants to follow after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow me.
It’s living as a reflection of Jesus daily. Again it is not about doing it perfectly, but increasingly..
Everyday you should be closer and closer to Jesus.. Everyday you should look more and more like Jesus..
Let me tell you a story from the Bible that shows this clearly.
Three gospels in bible
And so to sum up the story.. basically a A wealthy young man comes running to Jesus. He was respectful, eager, and even a religious leader
He asked Jesus, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” Basically what must i do to be saved?
Jesus told him to keep the commandments.
The young man said, “I’ve done all that!”
Then Jesus looked at him with love it says, and Jesus said:
“You’re missing one thing. Go, sell everything you have, give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow Me.”
And the young man… walked away sad.
Why?
Because he had a lot of stuff and he wasn’t willing to let it go to follow Jesus.
You see, it is not just following the rules and “being a good person” Becuase ultimately the RYR was still man and he still sinned… But Jesus was aksing him are you willing to give up everything to follow me…
And so Friends there are things in all of our lives that im sure we are not willing to give up to follow Jesus. But doing this is one of the most beatiful things that Jesus tells us to do, to fully surrender evrthing to him, and trust him.
if you go back to the book of Ephesians it says
For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift—
not from works, so that no one can boast.
I want to make sure we know.. There are so many other false gods that people believe in.. and so many other false religions.. And every single one says that humans can earn there way to heaven, that if they memorize the whole book in there religion they can go to heaven.. If they do good things they will go to heaven,
But guess what christianity says.. It says that there is no ways that you can be saved and go to heaven by yourself, and that you need a Substitute (Jesus) to do it for you on your behalf. .
Salvation means being rescued or saved by God from the punishment we deserve because of our sin, and being given a new life with Him, now and forever.
You don’t earn salvation , it’s a gift. and it is a choice.. A choice that when you receive it, it changes everything.
3. What Happens If We Don’t? What If We Do?
3. What Happens If We Don’t? What If We Do?
What if We Dont?
What if We Dont?
Im going to be very real with you guys.. im going to be straight up, not everyone chooses to follow Jesus.
Some people hear the message, they feel the weight of what Jesus did… They see the opening of the prison cell that has been opened for us
…But they decide stay in it.
Just like the Rich Young Ruler. They decide that they want to live the way that they want, not the way God wants them to live…
And here’s what happens if we walk away from Jesus:
if We stay in our sin and reject to let Jesus help us, we remain stuck in it, without forgiveness.
That means that we are fully responsoible and accountable for our own sin
this means that we stay separated from God… not just in this life, but forever. We carry our guilt, shame, and fear ,and there’s no one to take it from us. they face eternity without rescue . They face an eternity without forgivness and face judgment for there sins.
A forever life apart from God. The Bible refers to this as hell..
And often this lead people to ask the question
Why would a loving God send people to Hell?
Why would a loving God send people to Hell?
And that is a great question!
While I personally think that is the wrong question to ask, God doesnt send anyone to hell..
The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
So it is actually not God who sends people to hell, but it is actually a choice that we make..
Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.
What Does "Condemned" Mean?
What Does "Condemned" Mean?
“Condemned” means guilty and facing punishment.
When we sin and don’t have a genuine relationship with Jesus, we’re already condemned, because we are all guilty of breaking God’s law.
There needs to be a punishment for sin, and if you do not have a genuine relationship with Jesus, you will face the punishment of your sins.
It’s like standing in a courtroom before God and having no defense. You have already been convicted if you do not believe. The punishment is separation from God forever. The punishment is Hell
And there is nothing you can do about it for an eternity.. You are eternally seperated from God
That might sound scary… And i want to affirm that is scary.. But guys here is a verse that I hope eases that tension…
The one who believes in the Son has eternal life, but the one who rejects the Son will not see life; instead, the wrath of God remains on him.
And so
What If We Do believe in Jesus?
What If We Do believe in Jesus?
friends Jesus already made a way.He already opened the door of the prison cell.
But if we ignore Him, we choose to stay in the prison cell.
So what happens when we say YES to Jesus. When we choose to allow him to lead our life.
Well.
Jesus came to take our punishment for sin.
So when we believe in Him, we are not condemned anymore. We are forgiven, accepted, and rescued.
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.
Now imagine being back in the courtroom guilty of sin and jesus says
“The ransom has been paid. You’re free to go.”
Thats what Jesus does….Before Jesus, we were stuck under the power of sin. It ruled over us. It controlled our choices. It led us toward death, both spiritual and eternal.
But now?
With a relationship with Jesus, we are free. And we are not seperated from Him. but we are actually given eternal life through him.
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.
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
And so does that mean that because we believe in Jesus we can just sin whenever we want because jesus forgives…
Well if you thought this you are not the only one!
There is actually a verse in the bible that asks this same question and then answers it
Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of his wonderful grace?
Of course not! Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it?
Friends, Jesus did not die as our ransom, so that we can live how we want to live, But rather he dies so He could restore us to our orignal purpose, to reflect the image of God.
We have this oppurtunity to be restored back to our orignal purpose, to be Holy and pleasing to God
In Romans..
Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.
Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
So we don’t just say we believe; we live it out.
And so when you guys invite Jesus to be apart of your life.. it is not a one time prayer and you are saved..
You are too live it out, be in a relationship with him. Share the good news with others, Love the Lord your God
Becuase guys…
4.Jesus Is Coming Back
4.Jesus Is Coming Back
Jesus Is Coming Back
Jesus didn’t just rise from the dead and disappear.
He made a promise…
He’s coming back.
Why is He coming back?
so also Christ was offered once for all time as a sacrifice to take away the sins of many people. He will come again, not to deal with our sins, but to bring salvation to all who are eagerly waiting for him.
Jesus is coming back, to be reunited with those who are already his?
Are you his?
Right now, Satan is still trying to deceive people, mess with the world, and pull hearts away from God — but guess what? He’s already been defeated.
In Revelation 20:10, it says this:
The devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet are, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.
But even before that Satan was already defeated in Genesis 3:15. He has no power of those who believe in Jesus…
So what happens now?
What does it really mean to follow Jesus, not just for tonight, but forever?
Let me paint a picture for you.
When someone gets adopted, they don’t just get a place to stay…
They get a new family.
A new name.
A new home.
That’s what it means to come home to Jesus.
Jesus doesn't just rescue you from sin — He welcomes you into His family.
He gives you His name, His Spirit, and His presence forever.
And it gets better...
The Bible says in Philippians 3:20
But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ,
When you follow Jesus, you're not just a better version of your old self.
You're a new creation.
You’re no longer a citizen of this broken world, you’re a citizen of heaven.
And as believers we are waiting and groaning for the day our saviour comes back and take us to our heavenly home..
And I get it ,maybe this week has brought up some stuff.
Some pain. Some wounds. Some doubts.
I want to share the song with you guys… And then Ill close and that will be the end..
The song is called Maybe its ok- We are
“If I didn't know what it hurt like to be broken
Then how would I know what it feels like to be whole?
If I didn't know what it cuts like to be rejected
Then I wouldn't know the joy of coming home.”
You see, maybe your story has some pain.
Maybe your heart has been shattered.
But maybe… just maybe… maybe you know being here is the only place that you feel loved and can be yourself..
The chours says this…
“Maybe it's okay if I'm not okay
'Cause the One who holds the world is holding onto me.
Maybe it's all right if I'm not all right
'Cause the One who holds the stars is holding my whole life.”
Will you let him hold your life
The prison cell is open.
The adoption papers are signed.
The invitation is on the table.
Redemption has been paid in full.
It’s your choice?
Will you come home?
PRAY
