Who is Your Source?
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
Opening Illustration
Opening Illustration
In His Sermon on the Mount,
Jesus gave a terrifying statement…
15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.
There will be people who intentionally come in,
to deceive and devour the flock.
What a chilling thought!
Why would someone do that?
What do we do to identify them?
Jesus gives us the answer…
16 You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. 18 A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit.
Jesus tells us to look for fruit.
Healthy trees will bear good fruit… BUT
Diseased trees will bear bad fruit.
And then He says…
19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.
You will not always be able to tell whether a tree is healthy or not,
but eventually, you will be able to look at the fruit, or lack thereof,
and determine whether someone is a healthy tree, or a diseased tree.
Someone who is genuine and sincere could produce some bad fruit here and there,
but the overwhelming fruit in their life will be good.
Someone who is deceptive and misleading could produce some good fruit here and there,
but the overwhelming fruit in their life will be bad.
What makes one tree healthy and one tree bad?
Their source!
A tree that is healthy at it’s source,
cannot bear bad fruit,
because it’s only getting good things from it’s source!
A tree that is diseased at it’s source,
cannot bear good fruit,
because it’s only getting bad things from it’s source!
Main Point of Sermon
Main Point of Sermon
So the question I have for you this morning is…
Who is Your Source?
Who is Your Source?
Do you have healthy, good fruit coming from your life?
OR
Do you have diseased, bad fruit coming from your life?
The fruit that you see coming from your life,
is an indication of what you are connected to...
what your source is.
For this reason, it is useless to try and fix the unhealthy fruit itself.
There’s nothing you can do to change the fruit once it has grown.
It is what it is…
You must try to affect change at the source!
What we’re going to see this morning is:
Your Source Determines Your Future
Your Source Determines Your Fruit; and
Your Source Determines Your Friends
Prayer for Illumination
Prayer for Illumination
23 Search me, O God, and know my heart!
Try me and know my thoughts!
24 And see if there be any grievous way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting!
Scripture
Scripture
Announce
Announce
As a church we have been going through the gospel according to John,
and today we come …
John 15:1-17.
Introduce
Introduce
In the first 12 chapters of John,
He recounted Jesus’s signs/miracles,
and his teaching over the course of about three years of ministry.
But at the beginning of chapter 13,
John began talking about Jesus’s final evening with his disciples,
which is commonly referred to as the upper room discourse.
John slows way down to give us all the details of this last supper,
showing us how important it was in his mind.
As we pick up this morning in John 15,
we’re coming to the 7th and final “I Am” statement of Jesus.
“I am the true vine”.
Read
Read
1 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. 2 Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 3 Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. 4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. 5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. 7 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. 9 As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. 10 If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. 11 These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full. 12 “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command you. 15 No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. 17 These things I command you, so that you will love one another.
Transition
The first thing we see this morning is:
1. Your Source Determines Your Future
1. Your Source Determines Your Future
Jesus begins this section by saying,
“I am the true vine”
He is setting Himself apart as the true source of life.
No longer Israel,
which God referred to as a vine.
Jesus is the true vine… the source of life,
and therefore...
EXPLAIN
EXPLAIN
a. Abiding in Jesus Promises Life
a. Abiding in Jesus Promises Life
4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. 5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.
In order for the disciples to be fruitful, they must abide in the vine.
Now, Jesus isn’t saying they CAN’T DO ANYTHING apart from Him.
People far from Christ do things all the time.
What Jesus is saying is that they can’t do anything OF ETERNAL VALUE apart from Him.
The only way the disciples are going to bear fruit,
is by being connected to Jesus, the Source.
And as Pastor Jonah taught us last week,
the way that Jesus abides in His people is through the person of the Holy Spirit.
As the disciples remain in Jesus,
and Jesus in them through the Spirit,
they will do the works that Jesus did,
and bear eternal fruit.
Jesus Himself will be their Source,
and the Father will prune them,
so that they will bear more fruit.
And when they bear fruit,
It shows they are abiding in Jesus,
and have the promise of life!
But on the other hand…
b. Abiding in the Devil Promises Death
b. Abiding in the Devil Promises Death
6 If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.
Jesus is warning His disciples of the consequences of NOT abiding in Him.
A branch that is not connected to the vine,
is not going to bear fruit,
and is eventually going to die.
Jesus then gives a very detailed, vivid image of what happens to these branches:
they are thrown away
they wither
then they’re gathered
thrown into the fire
and burned.
It seems pretty clear that Jesus is referencing the final judgement.
Those who don’t have Jesus as their source,
are going to prove they are not His disciples.
Well then who is their source? THE DEVIL!
The world wants us to believe there are 3 possible positions to take about Jesus:
You’re on His side,
You’re against Him, OR
You’re neutral.
You’re not for or against Him.
You like Jesus, and believe in Him, and think He was a good person,
but you just don’t believe He was God, or don’t believe He’s the only way to heaven.
The problem is, that the Bible teaches: THEIR IS NO NEUTRAL POSITION!
Paul, sharing His testimony of being called by God,
said that God sent Him to the Gentiles…
to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God,
There’s only 2 options:
light or darkness;
under the power of Satan or the power of God.
4 You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.
There’s only 2 options:
You’re either a friend of God or an enemy of God.
7 Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. 8 Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.
There’s only 2 options:
You either follow Jesus’ example and prove to be a child of God; OR
You follow Satan’s example and prove to be His child.
SUMMARY
And what Jesus teaches us here in John 15 is:
Your Source Determines Your Future:
You either:
Abide in Jesus as your Source and have the promise of fruit and life; OR
Abide in the Devil as your Source and have the promise of fruitlessness and death!
APPLY
APPLY
Believer
If you have put your faith and trust in Jesus alone,
YOU ARE CLEAN!
You’re clean because You believe in Jesus’ Word that He spoke.
He has given you His Spirit, who lives in you…
SO… abide in Jesus, so that you will bear fruit!
Sometimes, the fruit we bear is confession and repentance, right?
We still sin, but through the Spirit, we are convicted of our sin,
and we turn to Christ and confess it, and receive His forgiveness and cleansing.
As we abide in His Word, He continues to prune us.
This is painful, and uncomfortable, but necessary!
So that we can bear more fruit!
Abide in Jesus!
Read His Word on a daily basis…
Spend time with Him in prayer, calling on Him for strength and help…
Memorize His Word to keep you from sin…
How many times are we not bearing the fruit that we should,
because we fail to abide in Jesus!
Apart from Jesus you can do nothing!
You can’t do it on your own!
Non-Believer
Turn to Jesus!
He is the source of life,
and you can do nothing of eternal value apart from Him!
All of the things you’re doing in your life,
you think they are meaningful, and are giving you true happiness,
but they’re not!
One day you’re going to die, and then it isn’t going to matter that you had:
a nice car;
a successful business;
a nice house with a new kitchen;
enjoyed the nicest restaurants; or
the nicest vacations…
When you stand before God on judgement day,
none of those things are going to save you!
God is not impressed by those things!
The only thing God cares about is:
Did you listen to my Son, who I sent to save you?
Did you follow His Word?
Did you believe Him and abide in Him as the true vine?
There is no middle/neutral ground when it comes to Jesus.
If He is not your Lord and Saviour, that means He is not your source,
which means you are of the devil… he is your source,
and you will be thrown into the fire and burned,
because you didn’t abide in Jesus!
The Good News is:
You can turn to Him and be saved today!
If you will confess and repent of your sins,
and believe in Jesus today,
YOU WILL BE SAVED!
Turn to Jesus today, abide in Him,
and bear eternal fruit through Jesus in you,
and have the promise of life!
The only way to bear lasting fruit is through Jesus!
Transition
The next thing we see is...
2. Your Source Determines Your Fruit
2. Your Source Determines Your Fruit
Jesus began by showing your source determines your future.
There are only two ways to live:
Abide in Jesus; OR
Abide in the Devil…
The one that you choose determines where you will spend eternity…
heaven or hell.
Now, beginning in verse 7, Jesus shifts the focus specifically to those who abide in Him.
Here we’re going to see the fruit that comes from those who abide in Him.
EXPLAIN
EXPLAIN
The first fruit we see that comes from abiding in Jesus is:
a. Abiding in Jesus Produces Answered Prayer
a. Abiding in Jesus Produces Answered Prayer
7 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.
If the disciples abide in Jesus,
that means He is their source.
He abides in them through His Spirit, and His Word.
This means they can ask for whatever they want, and it will be done!
This is because: THEY WILL PRAY FOR THE FATHER’S WILL!
True disciples of Jesus want Jesus to be glorified,
so they pray for God’s will in their lives.
And God is pleased to answer that prayer,
and bear fruit in the believer’s life,
because it brings glory to Him!
The next fruit we see that comes from abiding in Jesus is:
b. Abiding in Jesus Produces Obedience
b. Abiding in Jesus Produces Obedience
9 As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. 10 If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love.
Here we see what true love is…
and it’s not what you’d expect!
True love is giving commandments!
Why?
Because they’re true!
The Father sent Jesus into the world,
and showed His love for Jesus by giving Him His commandments.
God’s Law is true and reveals the path to life,
so the most loving thing He can do is give His commands,
so that Jesus can follow them.
Jesus extended that same love to His disciples,
by teaching them God’s commands as well.
Those who truly abide in Jesus,
show their love for Him by obeying His commands.
This results in the third fruit that comes from abiding in Jesus…
c. Abiding in Jesus Produces Fullness of Joy
c. Abiding in Jesus Produces Fullness of Joy
11 These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.
Jesus is revealing to His disciples that true joy… fullness of joy…
comes from obedience to His commands.
When the disciples abide in Jesus and He abides in them,
they recognize how good His commands are!
They see that His commands are not burdensome,
but reveal the path to life!
Walking in obedience to Jesus’ commands reveals His disciples are truly in Him,
and are truly loved by God,
therefore they will have joy… FULLNESS OF JOY!
SUMMARY
What wonderful promises there are for those who abide in Jesus!
When Jesus is your source… you produce the fruit of:
answered prayer;
obedience; and
fullness of joy!
APPLY
APPLY
Being a Christian & fullness of joy…
That seems like a contradiction doesn’t it!
The way many of you were raised,
the Christian life was not talked about as a life filled with joy!
Following Jesus is all about making your life as miserable as possible.
Set aside all joy, pleasure, and happiness,
and then hopefully you sacrificed enough to get into heaven.
This is not the life Jesus envisioned for those who would follow Him!
He envisioned that those who abide in Him:
GET THEIR PRAYERS ANSWERED!
Did you know God wants to answer your prayers?
More than that… He promises to answer your prayers!
When you’re praying for God’s will in your life,
He WANTS to answer that prayer,
because it brings glory to His name,
and proves you’re a disciple of Jesus.
Jesus also envisioned that those who abide in Him:
WILL ABIDE IN HIS LOVE BY OBEYING HIS WORD!
When you truly love Jesus, you want to obey His Word.
You have this desire because of His Spirit that lives in you.
And this produces FULLNESS OF JOY!
The reason obedience to Jesus’ commands brings joy,
is because it shows us the path to life!
11 You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
There is joy in knowing the true path to life.
The only true joy and pleasure is found in knowing God,
and the hope of being with Him forever!
To be separated from God, is to not have joy and pleasure.
That’s hell!
Which is why the most loving thing Jesus can do for us,
is tell us the truth, and give us God’s commands!
Even when it hurts…
ILLUSTRATE
ILLUSTRATE
In 2 Corinthians, Paul writes to the believers in the city of Corinth.
Before this letter, he had a very painful visit with them,
where he had to deal with sin among them.
Now, he had to deal with more sin,
but rather than going and having ANOTHER painful visit,
he chose to write a letter instead.
His goal was to write a letter of rebuke,
so that they would deal with the sin,
so that his next visit could be one of mutual joy.
As he writes in…
3 And I wrote as I did, so that when I came I might not suffer pain from those who should have made me rejoice, for I felt sure of all of you, that my joy would be the joy of you all.
Paul wanted to share in the joy they shared together in Christ.
But first he had to speak the truth in love.
That didn’t mean it was easy for Paul.
He goes on to say…
4 For I wrote to you out of much affliction and anguish of heart and with many tears, not to cause you pain but to let you know the abundant love that I have for you.
It hurt Paul to know that the truth of God’s Word cut so deep,
but he also knew that it was the pruning that was necessary to bring about the joy of obedience.
Therefore, it showed how much he loved them.
APPLY CONT.
APPLY CONT.
God showed his love to Jesus by giving his commands…
Jesus showed his love to us by giving us God’s commands…
Therefore we show love to one another
when we speak the truth of God’s to one another.
At times this may be painful,
but it shows our true love for one another,
and will lead us to experiencing true joy
as we seek to obey Jesus’s commands!
SUMMARY
When we are faithful to abide in Jesus as our source,
Praying for God to bear fruit in our lives,
Walking in Jesus love by obeying his word,
Then we will have fulness of joy!
Transition
The next thing we see is...
3. Your Source Determines Your Friends
3. Your Source Determines Your Friends
We’ve already seen that there are only two potential sources:
Jesus; or
Satan.
Your source is going to determine who your friends are.
A friend is…
Friend: a person whom one knows and with whom one has a bond of mutual affection.
Jesus will say in verse 14…
John 15:14 “14 You are my friends if you do what I command you.”
You are Jesus’ friend if you follow His commands.
Therefore, if you’re a disciple of Jesus,
YOUR FRIENDS, are those who follow Jesus’ commands!
This doesn’t mean we don’t have any sort of friendship/love toward those who are not Christians,
but there is a special bond that followers of Jesus share.
Together, we make up the body of Jesus.
We are His people!
Jesus is going to show us that...
EXPLAIN
EXPLAIN
a. Abiding in Jesus Means Loving His People
a. Abiding in Jesus Means Loving His People
12 “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command you. 15 No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.
Jesus does not refer to His disciples as servants…
They’re His friends!
You don’t tell a servant everything… you only tell them what they NEED to know.
Jesus told the disciples EVERYTHING He heard from the Father.
Therefore, they are His friends,
If they do what He commanded them.
And Jesus commands His friends to love one another as He loved them.
How did Jesus love His friends?
Sacrificially!
He laid down His life for them!
And this is the love Jesus is calling His disciples to model…
sacrificial love for one another!
Those who abide in Jesus,
love His people!
We also see that…
b. Abiding in Jesus Means Serving with His People
b. Abiding in Jesus Means Serving with His People
16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. 17 These things I command you, so that you will love one another.
Jesus is humbling His disciples by reminding them that they didn’t choose Him.
Jesus chose them to be His disciples!
Therefore they have no reason to boast!
Not only did He choose them,
but He appointed them to go and bear fruit that will abide.
This is because God is going to answer their prayers,
because of their faith in Jesus!
Jesus is speaking to ALL of His disciples here!
He is sending them out, and they will all bear lasting fruit,
and they WILL be successful,
as they work together to build God’s kingdom.
They are not lone rangers,
running out on their solo missions…
They are friends/family/part of the same body,
as they work together!
Those who abide in Jesus,
serve WITH His people!
SUMMARY
When Jesus is your source,
His friends are your friends,
and you love them,
and serve with them!
APPLY
APPLY
In our flesh this is not our natural instinct!
It seems so obvious when I was talking about it didn’t it?
Then why does it seem so often that it’s far easier to see one another as competition?
Maybe you’re thinking,
“What are you talking about Joe? I don’t see my brothers and sisters as competition?”
OH NO?!?
When someone tells you how good their wife/husband is…
You don’t think,
“Ooooh good for you!”
When someone tells you how good they’ve been doing with their Bible reading/Scripture memory...
You don’t think,
“Well aren’t you such a good Christian!”
OR
When someone disagrees with you on something…
You don’t start to debate and argue?!?
We seek out opportunities to engage in arguments and debates…
FOR FUN!
Brothers and sisters, this should not be!
ILLUSTRATE
ILLUSTRATE
We’re like Bruce the shark from Finding Nemo…
His natural instinct is to eat every fish that comes into his sight!
But through his support group he’s learning to retrain his instincts.
He does this through his support group, and their motto is:
“Fish are friends, not food.”
APPLY CONT.
APPLY CONT.
Paul had to warn the believers in the city of Galatia of this very thing!
15 But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another.
Apparently they struggled to see each other as friends in Christ,
and were treating each other like enemies!
We oftentimes find it easier to “devour” one another, than to love one another.
But when we do, we’re fighting against Jesus’s friends!
We need to learn to say,
“Followers of Jesus are friends, not food!”
We are connected because we have the same source… Jesus!
Because we abide in Him, we are friends!
And that means we should sacrificially love one another,
as Jesus sacrificially loved us!
Sacrificial love is setting aside your regard for yourself,
and putting someone else’s wants/need first.
Abiding in Jesus also means serving alongside one another.
None of us can claim that we are special before God!
None of us deserved to be saved!
We’ve all been given the same grace in Jesus,
and He has called us to work together,
to go out and bear fruit that will abide into eternity!
Since this is true,
Let’s love one another!
Let’s serve together!
This shows that we are true disciples of Jesus,
who abide in Him!
Closing
Closing
But what we’ve seen this morning is,
it takes more than just trying harder.
We are not going to be able to change the bad fruit in our lives,
by addressing it after it has grown.
The only way to change your fruit is to:
CHANGE YOUR SOURCE!
Closing Illustration - David Psalm 51
Closing Illustration - David Psalm 51
Most of the Bible is made up of the OT,
which tells the history of Israel, God’s people.
One of the men we learn about is King David,
who was the greatest king in all Israel’s history.
He did many great and incredible things through the power of God,
and yet one of the things he is most well-known for is a specific instance of sin.
David slept with a woman who was not his wife, and she became pregnant.
Her name was Bathsheba, and her husband, Uriah, was away at war at the time,
fighting FOR KING DAVID!
David tried bringing Uriah home from war, hoping he would sleep with his wife,
so that he could pass the baby off as his,
but Uriah was unwilling to go home to his wife while his fellow soldiers were off at war.
So David sent him back into battle,
with orders to Joab, the commander of the army,
to send him to the front lines to be killed, “in battle”.
While David might have thought he covered up his sin,
God sent Nathan, a prophet, to expose and confront his sin,
and David immediately confessed his sin!
Psalm 51 is a song of confession written by David,
specifically about this sin in his life.
David pours out his heart and confesses his sin to God,
declaring that God alone true and holy,
pleading for forgiveness and cleansing.
And then David gets to the root of the problem.
He prays…
10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.
You see, David recognized the problem was far deeper than just the fruit on the outside.
He recognized that fruit was coming from desires he had within him.
The problem was with his source…
David knew he had a sinful heart!
He got to the point where he just cried out to God:
“I’m so sick of these desires within me!”
“Why do I desire sin?”
“Why do I try to cover up sin at all costs?”
“Lord give me a new heart! A clean heart!”
“Give me a right spirit within me that desires what is right!”
APPLY
Maybe you’re there this morning…
As you think back over the last week/month,
and the same sins you’ve been struggling with, over and over…
“Why I am still struggling with these sins!”
“I hate that I desire these things!”
“Why do I do the things I hate?”
I remember feeling that way as a teenager struggling with pornography…
“I hate this sin!”
“I wish I could get rid of these desires!”
“I don’t want to want this sin!”
The problem is our sinful hearts!
Our hearts are deceitfully wicked,
and only desire evil all the time!
And this is the problem that God promised to solve!
Through the prophet Ezekiel God said to His people the Israelites…
26 And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.
Point to Christ (How does the Gospel speak to this?)
Point to Christ (How does the Gospel speak to this?)
This promise was fulfilled through Jesus!
As Pastor Jonah showed us last week,
Jesus told His disciples the reason He had to leave,
was so He could send:
the Holy Spirit;
the Helper;
the Spirit of truth…
INTO OUR HEARTS!
The Holy Spirit in you transforms your heart of stone,
into a heart of flesh!
If you hate your sin, that shows that you have a heart of flesh,
otherwise you wouldn’t even care about your sin!
Now, through the Holy Spirit in you,
you have a desire to obey Jesus!
You have a new heart… a clean heart!
God has fixed your source!
This doesn’t mean that you will never struggle with sin again…
you still have your flesh, and there is a battle raging inside of you.
But now you have the ability through abiding in Jesus to bear fruit for God!
Brothers and sisters in Jesus,
what you need to know this morning is through Jesus’ Spirit in you:
YOU ARE CLEAN!
YOU ARE HOLY!
YOU ARE RIGHTEOUS!
Otherwise God’s Spirit wouldn’t be able to dwell in you!
He has made you clean,
and given you a new heart!
You don’t deserve this!
I don’t deserve this!
God, in His grace has saved us through faith in Jesus!
Jesus died in your place, for your sins…
and shed His blood for you!
JESUS IS YOUR SOURCE OF LIFE!
WORSHIP HIM!
ABIDE IN HIM!
Spend time in His presence daily, abiding in His Word…
Spend time in His presence daily, calling to Him in prayer… and
He will give you the desire to walk in obedience…
He will give you the desire to love your brothers and sisters…
He will bear fruit through you that will last into eternity!
NON-BELIEVER
Maybe you’re here this morning and you still haven’t given your life to Jesus.
Maybe you think your sin isn’t that bad…
Maybe you don’t want to give up your “fun” lifestyle for Jesus…
Maybe you think you can fix it on your own… you don’t need Jesus…
You have been deceived by your source!
I’m talking to everyone! I need you all to listen to me…
It doesn’t matter how old or young you are…
Maybe you’re 60…50…40…30…20…15…10…5…
it doesn’t matter…
You can be wrong about a lot of things in your life,
but you can’t afford to be wrong about Jesus!
If you are not on His side… you are against Him!
If He is not your source of life… then the Devil is your source of death!
If you are not washed by His blood… then you are dead in your sin!
That sounds like really BAD NEWS,
and it is!
I have to give you the bad news
before you will even consider the GOOD NEWS!
The GOOD NEWS is:
If you repent of your sins, and believe in Jesus today…
YOU WILL BE SAVED!
Confess your sin to God!
Tell him all the sins that you’ve committed before Him,
all the sins that have left you feeling empty and depressed!
And cry out to Him for a new heart,
that longs for the peace and joy that come from abiding in Jesus!
That is a prayer that God WILL ANSWER!
He will give you His Spirit,
and a new heart!
He will be your new source of life,
bearing good fruit, that will last into eternity!
Closing Prayer
Closing Prayer
Let’s bow our heads in prayer.
Maybe you need to spend some time in prayer alone right now.
Maybe you realize that you’re a sinner,
and want to confess that sin to Him right now.
You want to surrender your life to Jesus
and ask Him to change your heart!
I want to give you a moment to do that…
Maybe you are a follower of Jesus,
and He is your source,
but you have not been abiding in Him,
and it’s showing in your fruit.
I want to give you a moment to confess your sin,
thank God for the cross where Jesus paid for your sin,
and thank Him for His Spirit that lives in you,
and ask Him to bear fruit in your life that will bring you His joy!
I want to give you a moment to do that…
Joe close in prayer…
If you’ve prayed a prayer, this morning,
TELL SOMEONE!
Share with someone what the Lord is doing in your heart!
If you’ve confessed your sins to the Lord,
and surrendered your life to Jesus,
TELL SOMEONE!
We want to rejoice with you,
and help you!
