Sermon Tone Analysis

Love Ran Red

“Father, into your hands I commit my spirit”: Surrender

Through this series we have been looking at the last words of Jesus from the cross and how these words might apply to us as though he were speaking them to us, today.

We began with:

Father forgive them for they know not what they do.

Mother behold your son, brother behold your mother; how Jesus was creating a new family…us the church

These words describe the life of Jesus as much as they do the moment of his death.

I thirst; how Jesus was a real man, who died a real death and who now calls us to serve

My God, My God why have you forsaken me?; how even in the darkest of days, because of what Jesus has done we can trust that God is with and for us

Today you will be with me in paradise; coming to understand that no one is out of Jesus reach

Today you will be with me in paradise

It is finished; but it is not over

Now, finally we have gotten to the last - final words.

Luek

Jesus lived his life showing the world what it means to love.

Describing his life of Jesus as much as they do the moment of his death.

That’s why we say that Love Ran Red on the cross on the first Good Friday.

Jesus lived his life showing the world what it means to love.

These words describe the life of Jesus as much as they do the moment of his death.

That’s why we say that Love Ran Red on the cross on the first Good Friday.

The reason Jesus displayed what it meant to love is because he lived his entire life in surrender to God.

Everything he did was as a result of his relationship with God the father.

This made Jesus a bit intimidating to people who didn’t understand him.

That’s true for us as well right.

Spiritual people are intimidating

If we were to go out and ask people on the street and they would tell you that spiritual people are intimidating.

Michelle and I went to a conference last summer called Aldersgate.

We met folks there who are truly spiritual, and let me tell you, some of them were a bit intimidating.

I don’t have a problem praying in public, but we get scared of folks who are willing to not just pray out loud in the grocery store.

Even tell them to get down on their knees right in the produce isle to pray.

Or get down on our face in the parking lot in prayer.

spiritual people are intimidating to people who don’t understand.

But this should tell us something about living faithfully.

There is a difference in believing and following.

Spiritual people can be intimidating.

But this should tell us something about living faithfully.

There is a difference in believing and following.

Believing and following Jesus are two different things.

Believing isn’t intimidating.

People can believe what they want.

But followers are different.

The difference is a matter of surrender.

Followers have accepted that the their leader is worth following.

They don’t just believe it, they have staked their future on it.

They have given up doing things that used to make sense.

They’ve given up the old ways in order to do new things the way their leader directs them to.

ILLUSTRATION:

Grew up working with my family.

My first job…no one was buying me lunch or picking me up.

I had to get there, I had to provide my own food, even coffee…they were cheap.

Like a new job.... this is how we handle the mail, this is how payroll works, this is how lunch breaks work.

In the same way a new life in Jesus brings about surrender of old ways.

Following Jesus costs us something.

It doesn’t cost like an admission fee, but it costs all the other ways we could do things.

We simply can’t be followers of Jesus and it not cost us something.

That’s why a lot of people don’t want to follow Jesus.

Some come and check out Jesus.

They hear followers of Jesus talk about how they give up their free time to serve one another.

How they take their Saturday morning to clean up the church, or their Thursday afternoons to peal turnips, or their Friday nights to grill chicken, their Sunday mornings to teach Sunday school.

They think of how little free time they have and decide that their free time will cost too much.

They are out.

Some hear how followers of Jesus look for ways to be generous with their money in order to make sure people in need have things they need, and they decide…that’s not for me, I work for mine and others should work for theirs too…Generosity just costs too much.

They may hear followers of Jesus admit their mistakes, and confess their habits and sins; and decide that they can’t pay the cost it would be to their reputation

Wouldn’t it be easier if we could all just believe and not follow?

Of course it would.... but then we would be missing the point.

Jesus made it pretty clear here.

The only way to have a relationship with God is to surrender my way to his way; to surrender my life to him.

Jesus’s surrender would lead him to the cross, where he would die for you and me.

God would count his death for the debt of our sins and he would rise again to conquer death and provide the means for our eternal life, but in order to participate in this new life, we have to follow him to the cross, our place of sacrifice, and die to our way as we take on his way.

The cross is a place where Jesus died and where we die too.

The cross that Jesus was called to was a real place of torturous death.

His death was for our sin.

Our sin is now paid.

A relationship with God is now been opened to those who believe.

So now what must die in us is pride, selfishness, ego, me first living because

When we follow Jesus, we submit our desires and selfish aims.

to him.

But, frankly, this is too much for some - most people.

That’s how it was when Jesus taught this the first time.

Things haven’t changed much, it’s still the reason many people don’t follow Jesus.

It’s too much for some people in the church even.

They like church and the family we have, but sacrifice?

Not so much…I’m OK with just believing.

I would ask you if it’s too much for you?

Now don’t get me wrong here.

Believing is important.

You can’t surrender like Jesus did without truly believing.

The kind of believing that Jesus showed us is a believing that shapes behavior.

Believing is the beginning,

Believing is the beginning, then we follow.

and then our beliefs begin to shape our behaving…we become followers.

Jesus followed his beliefs all the way to the cross.

Jesus would say that if we are living surrendered as he did, our beliefs lead to our cross.

Jesus would say that if we are living surrendered as he did, our beliefs lead to our cross.

Naturally we are scared of this sort of thinking and talking.

We are scared to give up our life.

We are so drawn to this life that the thought of losing it is scary.

Jesus proved though, that there is something more important than saving your life.

Jesus’s love running red, proved that the more important thing is losing your life for a purpose.

ILLUSTRATION: You go first.