To Be, or Not To Be? Pt11
Notes
Transcript
God, show me the way to the cross.
It is still hard to understand why the Son of God would let mortal men condemn Him to such a horrible death.
But what love you demonstrated in that act!
Lord, Show me how to demonstrate that same love to the world’s needy.
Give me your power…to do your work…as I set out on your mission.
Help me to understand who you are.
Help me to be and do what you want me to do.
Father, Give me eyes to see the world…to see people…as you see them.
I commit myself totally to you.
I will take up my cross and follow you…even into death. Amen.
What is the Gospel?
What is the Gospel?
Now I would remind you, brothers and sisters, of the good news that I proclaimed to you, which you in turn received, in which also you stand,
through which also you are being saved, if you hold firmly to the message that I proclaimed to you—unless you have come to believe in vain.
For I handed on to you as of first importance what I in turn had received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures,
and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures,
That is the Gospel...
1. Christ dies for our sins.
2. Christ was buried and three days later, He rose from the dead.
3. All things are subject to Him.
When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to the one who put all things in subjection under him, so that God may be all in all.
Both Peter on the Day of Pentecost, and Stephen on the day of his death, said the same thing: (here’s their message)
1. Christ is our salvation.
2. But You (Jewish Leaders — Church Leaders) killed Him.
3. But He is Alive!!!!!
That’s the Gospel!!!
But… that’s too simple isn’t it?
I mean, What does that mean?! It seems that their explanation here lacks some details....
It’s a good thing we (The Church) SIMPLIFIED it! Amen?
You see — that was too complicated for us to understand and explain (we thought) so we came up with the “Simple Gospel.”
The Simple Gospel: (here’s what the Simple Gospel says)
God created you and wants a relationship with you.
Your sin separates you from God.
Jesus took the punishment your sins deserve.
If you repent and put your trust in Him for your salvation, you will be forgiven, justified, and accepted freely by grace.
Not a bad way to state the Gospel is it?
But… Can I tell you that it is much much simpler than that?
Let me really mess this up for you.....
Let me really mess up the idea of what the Gospel is for all you Good “Christians” out there… I apologize ahead of time for this… LOL
Here’s the Gospel in a nutshell”: (You might want to write this down!)
Your life is not what God intended.
But… You are not stuck! This is not all there is!
Christ offers you NEW life!
I don’t know what you are dealing with....
maybe its depression… maybe its addictions… maybe its past mistakes that you still beat yourself up about… you may be in a place where you feel like there is no hope… like there is nothing left for you… like there is no way ANYONE — much less God — can love you, or even care… Let me tell you: That is not true!
No matter where you are in life right now… No matter how you feel about yourself… I promise you: That is not the life God intended for you!
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.
But… there is hope! Christ died for you! To set you free. To empower you to receive and live the life God intended for you. All you have to do is receive it.
“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.
“Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.
(invitation)
We are INVITED by Christ to enter into the life God intended for us… THROUGH Christ!!!
You see… The Gospel is about Commitment.
It’s about a commitment that transforms your life!
It’s about a commitment to Christ that goes way beyond a simple statement of belief and into a life that astounds the world and brings glory to God!
A commitment to the Cross is a commitment that changes the world!
Because it changes us…
It changes the way we act…
It changes the way we do things…
It changes the way we think…
It changes the way we Love…
We have been given the GREATEST gift this world can receive!
But… It is not a gift we are supposed to keep for ourselves!
Let me tell you: If you prayed that prayer with me… if you have accepted Christ into your heart, as Lord and Savior… than you are my brother… you are my sister… welcome to the family!!!! But — HEAR THIS — It’s not about you anymore!
But Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”
If you have heard God’s call… If you have accepted His Life… then you have a purpose!
“You go and proclaim the Kingdom of God.”
You see? It’s not about you anymore! It’s about the Kingdom! If you have received Christ as your Lord and Savior, you are called to Follow Christ and proclaim the Kingdom!
To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”
This man was called with the same invitation Christ gave to the disciples: “Follow Me.”
Yet his response was not the same...
After this he went out and saw a tax collector named Levi, sitting at the tax booth; and he said to him, “Follow me.”
And he got up, left everything, and followed him.
Levi was a rich man… yet he left everything to follow Jesus into the new life Christ had for Him.
When the Disciples heard Jesus’s invitation, they “immediately left everything and followed Him...” and as a result, Jesus made them “fishers of men.”
But, this man hesitates… Why?!
Because he is distracted by the world around him… He is distracted by his worldly obligations… by the expectations of the culture he lived in… by worldly desires…
I wonder… Do we do that?
Do we hear Christ’s voice? Do we hear Him inviting us? Do we hear Him saying to us, “Follow Me”, and we hesitate because we are distracted by the world around us? Do we hear Jesus calling, asking us to do something, but we say “wait”?
Why?!
Because our love and faith in Him is not large enough!
You see… the world still holds a place in our lives...
Our love for Him… for Jesus… must EQUAL His love for us!!!
No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.
Christ loved us enough to give His life for us.
Are we willing to do the same?
To Be, or Not To Be?
Do we Love Christ enough to follow Him to the Cross?
You see — That is what His call to “proclaim the Kingdom of God” is. It is a call to follow Him… To proclaim Him… To share His gospel… NO MATTER THE COST!
Let me tell you something — If you think that sharing the gospel is easy… Think again! It’s not easy. Jesus never said it would be.
(look at)
Go on your way. See, I am sending you out like lambs into the midst of wolves.
Why would Jesus say he is sending them out among the wolves if there is no possibility of suffering?
But… We do not have to fear...
Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals; and greet no one on the road.
“Take no provision” means “trust Christ.” He will provide for us. He will open the doors. He will give us the words… And rejection is not rejection of us, it is rejection of Him.
The question is: “Will we trust and follow Him or not?”
To Be, or Not To Be?
Ken Heer tells the story of Jim.
Jim was his most intelligent, most promising seminary student.
His very first Old Testament class paper could have been published in a professional journal. Heer tells of how he revealed insights and thoughts about the scriptures that noone had thought of before.
Jim completed his studies in Europe and received a doctorate there. He could have been an extremely influential professor at any seminary in the states....
But, that wasn’t for Jim. He had no desire to “teach” in a seminary… He had no desire for the recognition and “fame” that came from that… No Jim had other plans...
You see, Jim had heard the call of God!
He married a beautiful girl from Yugoslavia, and joined her in ministry there. He poured himself into the ministry, serving the churches there, and soon found a love for the people he had not known before.
Jim’s heart for the people there led him to write textbooks that allowed the seminary students there to study in their own language, and to be strengthened as pastors.
Jim was committed… He had heard Jesus’s call: “Follow Me to Yugoslavia.”
And that’s where he went… even though his friends, family, and colleagues told him not to. Even though they told him he could have a “lucrative” life here as a seminary professor....
Jim knew that was not for him. He had heard Christ’s call, and nothing was going to stop him from following it!
I wonder: Are we that committed?!
Are we willing to let go of the world, and follow Jesus wherever He asks us to go?
I remember when we were preparing to go to Korea.... As we were packing things up, deciding what to keep and what to let go of.... As we were having conversations with our family (well, mostly my wife’s family), they thought we were crazy!
You see, we heard Jesus’s call… We heard Him saying to us, “Follow me to Korea,” and we could not ignore it.
Our family did not understand.... How could we sell everything we owned? How could we pack up our teenage daughter, and move halfway around the world to a “third world country”?
(that’s what they thought Korea was!)
It made no sense to them.... But it did to us!
We heard Jesus’s call… “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.”
Like Jim… Jesus is inviting us, “Follow me.”
We are called to carry Christ’s message of Hope… of Love… of Grace… of Mercy… of Peace… into the darkness of people’s lives!
Will we?!
To Be, or Not To Be?
He said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.
Look around you today...
People are desperate for Christ’s message! People are searching for light in the darkness… They are desperate for Hope!
They are looking at their lives… at the world around them… at the pain…the confusion… the chaos… and the violence, and they are wondering: “What is going on?”
“How did we get here?”
“What do we do?”
“Where can we find Hope in all this craziness?”
Everyday, I talk with people who are asking these very questions in a lot of different ways!
You would not believe the conversations God has placed me in just in the last few weeks....
Church — We have the answer!
We know where hope… joy… peace are found!
Will we bring the answer?
Will we share what we have?!
To Be, or Not To Be?
(please bow your heads)
Let me ask you:
Where is your commitment to God?
Have you given Him your heart? Do you hear His voice calling “Follow me”?
Is it a Cross-carrying commitment?
Is it a world-sacrificing commitment?
Is it a commitment that forces you into the streets seeking out the “lost and the lowly,” the “downtrodden and forgotten”?
Are you prepared for rejection… for persecution… even for death… if that is what it takes for you to minister to those who need what you have received?
There is no greater cost than the cost of following Christ, BUT… there is also no greater reward than to follow Christ.
Now is the time.... Will you let go, and commit EVERYTHING to Him?
Christ is calling, inviting us: “Follow me.”