Rescued and Talking About It
Rescued and Talking About It
Romans 10:9-15
INTRO:
· More than 1,500 of the 2,200 passengers died when the Titanic sank on April 15, 1912
· People in the lifeboats are listened to the haunting cries of dying, "For God's sake. Help us," and "Please help us," but they choose not to go back for fear of capsizing.
· Later they do go back to let and almost everyone is frozen.
B. GOD WILL NEVER DO THIS TO US WHEN WE CALL OUT TO HIM!
C. READ ROMANS 10:9-15
I. Making Him Lord, i was rescued, vs. 9-10
A. These, mouth and heart, are just two aspects of 1 salvation event; the belief and its content; the internal and the external.
1. This is an act of the will in confessing and faith in its content. The resurrection is used as a summary of the content, because it follows his death in our place for our sins, and by the resurrection the claims of Christ were proven. He demonstrated victory of sin and death, and he became the first among many brothers to do so.
2. We believe in his victory and our following him into relationship with the Father and into eternity.
3. Why say it like this? Because he wants to draw in the Jewish audience with the quote from Deuteronomy 30:14 where the two are used, of one thing, the Word. Proving it just takes faith, not superhuman spiritual feats to connect to God and be saved from His punishment for sin.
B. Getting right with God, saving, is equivalent to making Jesus boss in your life.
1. The main sin for everyone is self-rule. Other sins are just symptoms.
2. Repenting of symptoms only can’t fix the main problem as it leaves a sinner on the throne of the heart.
Sister Act
Scene Setup:
Deloris Van Cartier, a key witness against a mob figure, has been placed in a convent as part of a witness protection program. Up until now she has lived the life of a Las Vegas lounge singer, and the austerity of the convent is a culture shock.
The Big Idea: Before we can find new life, we must die to the old one.
3. True repentance would require turning from this sin to its only true alternative, God’s rule through Christ in me as Lord.
4. This can be seen in the words for faith, belief, trust, confidence in all stemming from one root word in Greek, pistis, meaning belief that directs choices and leads to action.
5. Look at Eden
II. This is for everybody, vs.11-13
A. Any and all, trust and call, never shamed, but surely saved.
B. This means YOU!
III. we need to talk it up, vs.14-15
A. ILLUSTRATION: Look at your feet. Hold them up, unless you are wearing a dress. Those could become the best looking feet in Greensboro.
B. One can’t believe in what they have never heard of.
C. One can’t hear what is never spoken openly (word preach here is really proclaim, tell out, talk up)
D. One can’t talk to those who have not heard w/o … being sent.
1. It logically follows that one would have to go, right?
2. But, we never really go on our own. We are sent by God. We are His ambassadors.
3. Literally being apostled, God’s great commission was to begin in Jerusalem, their hometown. For us that’s Greensboro. But it was still a “going” and not a “receiving of visitors.”
4. Good-News-ing among those who disagree.
5. Sometimes words alone don’t tell the story well, but actions without words are worse still. Charades.
6. Paul Harvey said, "Too many Christians are no longer fishers of men but keepers of the aquarium."
Finding Nemo, The Big Idea: You can't believe the story you have never heard.
Scene Setup:
Nemo has been captured by divers and taken to a new life in a saltwater aquarium in a dentist's office. He feels lost and alone. One day, a pelican alights on the window, and when he discovers the new fish in the tank is named Nemo, he excitedly tells him that his father is looking for him.
Scene:
Nemo, recognizing his father's insecurities and fears, does not believe that he would be brave, or resourceful, enough to track him all the way from the reef to Sydney. The pelican says that it is true, and then recounts for Nemo all that his father has gone through to get to him. He explains how his father bested three sharks, a fish, with enormous teeth, down in the depths, and a jellyfish forest. The pelican assures Nemo that his father is probably out in the harbor right now. Finally understanding the depth of his father's love for him, Nemo shrugs off his complacency, and becomes even more resolute in his desire to get back home.
Application:
Many people in the world feel abandoned by God. If they think of Him at all, it is as someone who is far away and disinterested in their lives. They have no conception of all that God has done to get to them -- the taking on of human flesh, the mocking of men, the scourging and crucifixion, the taking on Himself all of our sins, and the death. If people knew, and believed in the sacrifices God has made to redeem them, they might also become strengthened in their desire to know Him. We must be like the pelican, and openly share with others what the Father has done, and what the Son has sacrificed, so that the Holy Spirit can begin the work of conviction and regeneration in the lives of the lost.
DVD Chapter: 17 Start Time: 0:58:45 End Time: 1:00:17
One day a lady criticized D. L. Moody for his methods of evangelism in attempting to win people to the Lord. Moody’s reply was "I agree with you. I don’t like the way I do it either. Tell me, how do you do it?" The lady replied, "I don’t do it." Moody retorted, "Then I like my way of doing it better than your way of not doing it." -- James S. Hewett, Illustrations Unlimited