Untitled Sermon (40)
Notes
Transcript
I want to welcome you again this morning.
First, to those joining us online, we are so thankful for our online technology that allows you to be a part of our church family today.
I also want to welcome those who may be joining us for the first time today. I hope your time with us today is encouraging and helpful, and I look forward to meeting you.
I would also say if you are new to our church today, it would be helpful for you to know that we practice a form of preaching called “Expository Preaching”.
What that means, is we believe the Bible is best taught by taking books of the Bible and then breaking them down from beginning to end, chapter by chapter, verse by verse. Our goal, to better understand not only what God’s Word says, but what it means in our lives today.
With that said, we are currently doing that through the NT book of Act. A book written by a First Century disciple named Luke, who wrote it for a couple of reasons:
First, to give us a history of the church. How it started, who was there, and the circumstances that surrounded it.
Second, to give us a template of sorts. A template that teaches us how to accomplish the mission Jesus gave us to take the Gospel into the rest of the world.
So, if you haven’t been with us, I would encourage you to go online to mcf.life where you can listen to all of the messages leading up to today.
Today however we are picking back up in Acts 19 as Paul begins his third missionary journey as he returns to the city of Ephesus.
You may recall from last week that Paul had previously visited Ephesus, but it was during a transition point in his ministry. A transition that involved Paul taking a spiritual vow and a journey back to Jerusalem for the fulfillment of that vow.
But now that his vow is over, Paul has returned to the mission field where he will pick up where he left off.
Which brings us to Acts 19 as Luke introduces us to Paul’s return to the mission field. Beginning in verse 1 he writes:
1 And it happened that while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul passed through the inland country and came to Ephesus. There he found some disciples.
So, here is Paul back in Ephesus, and it will be here in Ephesus that the power of the Spirit will work through Paul in what Luke calls an extraordinary manner. In fact, if we skip down to verse 11, Luke puts it like this:
11 And God was doing extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul,
And as result, it will be here in Ephesus that Paul will face some of his greatest victories and some of his greatest opposition to date.
And the fact is, that’s what typically happens when God is working extraordinarily through an individual or a church. It’s during that time that some of the greatest battles and victories will come.
And the reason that’s important for us to understand today, is because I’m convinced more than ever, that God has raised our church up to reach this city, county, and region in an extraordinary way. I believe that with all my heart.
Now, you might say, “Pastor, that’s great, but what are you basing that on?”
Well, first and foremost, as your pastor, I’m basing off of what I believe the Lord has put in my heart for our church and what God has done in and through our church over the past several years. Because quite frankly, what’s happened at MCF over the past several years has been extraordinary.
I’m also basing it off the fact that since our return from Covid, we haven’t seen a decline in attendance, but an increase. In fact, numerically and financially, we are ahead of last year. Which blows my mind, because for three months, we didn’t have a physical service.
I’m also basing it off the fact that a few Sunday’s ago, while we planned on baptizing 20 people, which is amazing in itself, we we ended up baptizing 37 people. A miracle and testimony of how God is moving in and through our church.
I’m basing it off the fact that on a weekly basis we are seeing new people come to MCF who are looking for hope and are hungry for the truth of God’s Word.
I’m basing it off the fact that in the in the midst of a virus, in the midst of social unrest, in the midst of riots, in the mist of a political dog fight, in the midst of a spiritual darkness that has covered our country, God is shining a light in and through our church. A light that I believe He is going to use to lead many to Him.
MCF, I base if off the fact that God is looking for Christians and Churches who are serious about leading people to the truth. And I believe MCF is that kind of church.
The question then is, “Are we ready for the extraordinary work that God wants to do in and through our church?”
Because it’s one thing for God to want to work in and through a church, but it’s another for the church to be ready for Him to do that.
So, as we rejoin Paul today in Ephesus, I really only have one goal. And the goal is to discover what it was that Paul did that allowed God to use him in such an extraordinary way. In other words, what initiated that work? What was the catalyst that led to miraculous works and a great move of God.
Because I believe if we want God to work in and through our church in an extraordinary way, then we need to discover what that catalyst is. And based on what we are going to read today, I’d like to suggest to you that the catalyst consists of three priorities. Three priorities we need to be committed to if we want the extraordinary work of God to take place in and through our church.
And so over the next two weeks, we are going to look at all three of those priorities. The first one we will look at today, and the final two next week. And in doing so, I believe we may open a door for God to do something extraordinary.
And so with that our basis, let’s pick back up with Paul as he returns to Ephesus. Beginning again in verse 1, Luke writes:
1 And it happened that while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul passed through the inland country and came to Ephesus. There he found some disciples. 2 And he said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” And they said, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” 3 And he said, “Into what then were you baptized?” They said, “Into John’s baptism.” 4 And Paul said, “John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, Jesus.” 5 On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 6 And when Paul had laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began speaking in tongues and prophesying. 7 There were about twelve men in all.
As you can already tell, this passage has quite a few moving parts and ends with a spectacular move of the Holy Spirit involving some supernatural gifts of the Spirit.
And so before we get too far into the passage, I want to begin by giving us some context for what Paul is walking into as he comes back to Ephesus.
You may recall from last week, that prior to Paul returning to Ephesus, a preacher named Apollos had arrived in Ephesus. A man who was powerful in word, speech, and knowledge. In fact, Luke says this about him:
24 Now a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was an eloquent man, competent in the Scriptures.
And as we learned last week, his presentation of the gospel was so powerful and impressive that he caught the attention of two of Paul’s former ministry partners. A married couple named Priscilla and Aquila.
But as we learned, while Apollos’s message about Jesus was for the most part accurate, there were some missing pieces that Priscilla and Aquila needed to instruct him on. Because Luke writes:
26 He began to speak boldly in the synagogue, but when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately.
Luke says while his teaching was accurate, something was missing. So, a great question would be, “What was missing?”
Well, apparently it had to do with the baptism of John, because concerning Apollos Luke writes:
25 He had been instructed in the way of the Lord. And being fervent in spirit, he spoke and taught accurately the things concerning Jesus, though he knew only the baptism of John.
Notice what Luke says. He says while he had been instructed in the way of the Lord, and he was accurately teaching concerning Jesus, he knew only the baptism of John.
So, what exactly does that mean?
Well, to answer that, we need to first identify what Luke means by “The Baptism of John”.
And to do that, we need to go back to the Gospels, specifically the Gospel of Mark where Mark writes this:
4 John appeared, baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
In this passage Mark highlights a man named John who was baptizing.
So, who is this John guy that Mark is referencing? Well, if we took the time to study it further, we’d learn Mark is talking about a man named John the Baptist. A man that was sent by God to prepare the people for the arrival of the promised Messiah. The arrival of Jesus. In fact, John the Baptist verifies this. Because when asked who he is, he says:
23 He said, “I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as the prophet Isaiah said.”
What John is saying here is that he is the introduction for Jesus. He’s the one who has been sent to go out and prepare the people for the coming of the promised savior.
And that’s exactly what John did as in the days of his ministry he preached the repentance of sins and encouraged people to get water baptized as a sign of their repentance. A spiritual preparation of sorts. And the people responded to it. Because the gospel writer John tells us this:
23 John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because water was plentiful there, and people were coming and being baptized
And so John is baptizing, an he did it right up until Jesus arrived on the scene. Because when Jesus shows up, John the Baptist points him out. We read about it in John 1 where John the Baptist makes this statement:
29 The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!
At this point John the Baptist recognizes Jesus is the one, and he begins to point people to Him.
And so when we talk about the baptism of John, we’re talking about a baptism that is looking forward to the promised Messiah. A baptism that is meant to prepare people to receive Jesus when he comes.
Why is this so important? Because when Jesus does come, Jesus will do more than baptize them in water. He will do something far more significant. John the Baptist explains it like this:
16 John answered them all, saying, “I baptize you with water, but he who is mightier than I is coming, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
John says when the promised Messiah comes, when Jesus shows up, He will baptize with the Holy Spirit. A baptism that doesn’t just clean the outside of a person, but the inside as well.
All that to say, John’s Baptism is a baptism that represents a future hope of salvation.
So when we come back to Acts 18, apparently, that’s what Apollos is preaching in Ephesus when Priscilla and Aquila encounter him. Which means, Apollos isn’t preaching about the person Jesus, but about the promise of Jesus. Like John the Baptist, he’s pointing people to a future hope.
And this is where Priscilla and Aquila step in and they instruct him more accurately. This is where they reveal to Apollos that the promised Messiah has come. This is where they tell Apollos about Jesus. This is where they tell him about Jesus’s death and resurrection. This is where they tell him about the salvation that God provides through faith in Jesus.
And it’s important that we understand this, because when Paul arrives back in Ephesus in Acts 19, he encounters more disciples like Apollos. Disciples that haven’t gotten the memo on Jesus yet. How do we know? We know because that’s what Luke just told us in today’s passage. Let’s look at it again:
1 And it happened that while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul passed through the inland country and came to Ephesus. There he found some disciples. 2 And he said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” And they said, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” 3 And he said, “Into what then were you baptized?” They said, “Into John’s baptism.”
Luke says as Paul arrives back in Ephesus, he encounters some disciples. And apparently as he talks to them, be begins to recognize that something is missing. He begins to realize that yes, they believe there is a future hope and a future Messiah, but it doesn’t go much further than that. And so he asks them an important question. He asks them, “Into what then were you baptized?”
In other words, what is it you’ve put your hope in for salvation and redemption? And their answer is, “Into John’s baptism”.
Which means they’re on the right track, which is good. But they don’t have the full picture yet. Because what they don’t know is that the promised Messiah has come. And that’s why Paul goes on to say them:
4 And Paul said, “John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, Jesus.”
In this moment Paul verifies that yes, John did baptize with a baptism of repentance. A baptism that looked forward to a future redeemer. To the one who would come after him. And then Paul tells them what they don’t know. He tells them that the redeemer has come as he tells them about Jesus.
And it’s at that point that Paul leads them to faith in Jesus. Into a baptism that truly saves. How do we know? We know because of what Luke says happened next:
5 On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
Luke says after listening to Paul tell them about Jesus, after recognizing that the redeemer had come, they put their faith and hope in Jesus. And the evidence of that decision is then seen as they are baptized in His name.
And that’s why baptism is so important here at MCF. It’s not because it saves you. But because it symbolizes a decision you’ve made. A decision to put your hope in Jesus and make Him Lord of your life. And that’s what we celebrated a few weeks ago when 37 people got baptized.
Which leads us to the first priority we are going to look at today. And I would state it like this:
Priority #1 - If we want to be a church that God works extraordinarily in and through, we have to be a church that leads people to the knowledge and truth of who Jesus is.
Here’s what I want you to notice. One of the first things Paul does when he gets to Ephesus, is he corrects and points people to the truth. And in doing so, he points them to Jesus.
And the fact is, if we want God to work extraordinarily in and through our church, we have to be committed to doing the same. Because at the end of the day, that’s what God has called the church to do. To lead people to the truth. The truth that the only way a person can be right with God, is through faith in Jesus.
Now, you might be thinking, “Ok Pastor, that’s great. But why does leading people too that truth need to be our number one priority?”
This morning, I want to give you 3 Reasons why this has to be our number one priority:
Reason #1 - A lot of people don’t know the truth about Jesus.
I think one of the most common mistakes we make as Christians, is to assume that everybody we meet or come in contact, or that even comes to church, understands who Jesus is and/or believes what the Bible says about Him.
And I think we make that mistake because we have this idea that America is a Christian nation. And that we are a nation that still holds to traditional Christian values, morals, and beliefs.
But nothing could be further from the truth. Because the truth is, we are a post Christian nation, and what many people believe about Jesus isn’t based on what the Bible says, but what the world says.
In fact, in a recent survey conducted by Barna, 2000 professing Christians were asked a series of questions concerning their faith. And to be honest, their answers might surprise you.
For example, when asked if Jesus was sinless, here’s how professing Christians responded:
Of those professing to being Evangelical Christians, 43% said no.
Of those professing to be Pentecostal Christians, 44% said no.
Of those professing to be Main Line Protestant, 59% said no.
Of those professing to be Catholic, 66% said no.
Which means on average, 53% of those practicing the Christian Faith don’t believe Jesus was sinless.
Do you know what that means? It means that 53% of professing Christians don’t believe one of the fundamental and foundational truths of the Christian faith. A truth that almost everything we believe stands on.
Because the fact is, if Jesus isn’t sinless, then He isn’t the Son of God, and if He isn’t the Son of God, then He didn’t rise from the dead, and if he didn’t rise from the dead, then He doesn’t have the power or ability to save you from your sins and make you right with God. And if that’s the case, then we are the most foolish people on the planet. In fact, Paul puts it like this:
14 And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. 15 We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. 16 For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. 17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. 18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19 If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.
What Paul is saying here is, if Jesus isn’t the sinless Son of God, then those of us running around saying he is are a bunch of fools.
So, maybe a great question to ask would be, “Why would 53% of professing Christians say that Jesus wasn’t sinless?”
To be honest, there may be a number of reasons, but let me give you the most obvious. They don’t believe it because they’re not being taught it. In other words, they are attending a church or they’re part of a denomination that is not teaching them the truth.
Now, I don’t know about you, but that’s extremely concerning to me, and may be the reason why so many churches in America are in decline and are dying. Because if you don’t believe that Jesus was the sinless Son of God, then as a church you have no foundation to stand on.
And friends, if that’s a belief that isn’t being taught in the church, then it’s definitely not a belief that is being communicated to the world. In fact, the opposite is happening. Dr. George Barna puts it like this. He says:
“The irony of the reshaping of the spiritual landscape in America is that it represents a post-Christian Reformation driven by people seeking to retain a Christian identity.” He goes on to say, “Unfortunately, the theology of this reformation is being driven by American culture rather than biblical truth. The worldviews embraced by the adherents of these distinct religious communities reflect contemporary, worldly influence, rather than biblical influence.”
What Dr. Barna is implying is that it’s not the church shaping Christian doctrine, but the world. Which means, if we want to be a church that God uses to do extraordinary things, then we better be a church that is committed to the truth, specifically when it comes to who Jesus is.
And so just to be clear on what the Bible says about Jesus, I would like to take a few moments a clarify some important facts about Jesus.
Fact #1 - While on earth, Jesus was sinless.
Again, this is a foundational belief of the Christian faith, and is verified by three Biblical facts. First, by His virgin birth, and second, by the evidence of His life, and finally by his death and resurrection.
So, let’s start with His virgin birth. A birth that came as a result of a supernatural seed that God planted in Mary’s womb. The Gospel writer Luke describes the supernatural event like this:
35 And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God.
The idea implied here is that in one moment the virgin Mary wasn’t pregnant, and in the next moment she was. An impregnation that didn’t involve any kind of sexual encounter.
So, how did she get pregnant? Luke just told us. He said the Holy Spirit overshadowed her and planted the see within her womb.
The question then is, “Why is this point so important?” It’s important because sin isn’t something that infects us when we are born. It’s something that infects us at our very conception. Why? Because sin is hereditary. Meaning, it’s passed on through our spiritual genes by the seed of man.
And so in order to get around that, God cut man’s seed out, and implanted His own. And that’s why the angel then tells Mary, “…therefore the child to be born will be called holy-the Son of God.”
So, that’s the first fact. His virgin birth.
The second is the evidence of Jesus’s life. Because apparently Jesus lived up to the standards of the Son of God. Peter puts it like this:
22 He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth.
Peter says, “Listen, I spent three years with the man, and never once did I see anything sinful in him. Not one thing.”
And not only that, but when Jesus accusers put Jesus on trial, they couldn’t find any dirt on him. So, in order to have him crucified, they had to trump up some false charges.
The writer of Hebrews then verifies this as well as he writes:
26 For it was indeed fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens.
The writer of Hebrews says, “Here’s what you need to know. The reason Jesus is who He says He is, is because he was innocent of sin and unstained by it.”
In other words, Jesus was sinless.
And the further proof of that is then found in his death hand resurrection. Because the fact is, what actually kills us and keeps us dead isn’t old age or disease. What kills us and keeps us dead is sin.
The Apostle Paul puts it like this:
12 Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned—
Paul says the reason we die is because of sin. And as a result, because all men sin, all men die.
What that means then is, if somebody could live their life without sin, then they wouldn’t die. Because when sin isn’t present, there can’t be death.
Well guess what. Somebody did do that. And his name is Jesus. Because listen to what the Apostle Peter says about Jesus’s resurrection from the dead.
24 God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it.
Peter says death wasn’t able to hold Jesus down. Why? Because Jesus was without sin. As a result, death had no claim on Him.
Everybody tracking with me? All that to say, Jesus was sinless.
This leads us to a second fact. Because not only was Jesus sinless, Jesus is God.
The Gospel writer John verifies this, because listen to what he says about Jesus.
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
In this opening sentence to His gospel, John wants to make something clear. He wants us to know that Jesus was more than a man. In fact, He is God. And we know that’s what he’s saying, because he goes on to write:
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. 8 He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light.
9 The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. 11 He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. 12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
In this theological passage, John verifies something important about Jesus. He verifies that He was and is God.
And that’s the message that we are to share as well. That Jesus wasn’t just a good person, or a prophet, or a good teacher, or an angel, but that He was in fact God in the flesh.
And what we need to understand is everything we believe as Christians rests on this truth. A truth that we must never deviate from or deny. Because without this truth, there is no salvation. Which leads us to a second reason we need to make this truth a priority:
Reason #2 - A lot of people have put their hope in the wrong savior.
The fact is, like these disciples that Paul ran into Ephesus, there are a lot of well meaning people who are on the right track, but they haven’t fully embraced the truth concerning Jesus. And instead, have put their faith in something that doesn’t lead to salvation.
So, what have they put their faith in?
Well for some, they’ve put their faith in the baptism of a denomination.
In other words, they think because they belong to a certain church or a certain denomination, that somehow that gives them the assurance of salvation they need.
But the fact of the matter is, denominations and church affiliation have no power to save you. Which means, whether you’re Lutheran, Methodist, Catholic, Presbyterian, Assembly of God, Baptist, or whatever denomination you want to affiliate with, that affiliation has no power to save you. Why? Because affiliation doesn’t save us. What saves us is a savior. And His name is Jesus.
You see, that was the problem for some of the Jews in Jesus’s day. What they had put their hope in was their affiliation. Their affiliation as Jews. Their affiliation with Abraham. That’s why Jesus says this to them:
9 And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’ for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham. 10 Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
Jesus says, “It’s not your affiliation that saves you.”
So, that’s one false baptism people put their hope in.
Another one would be the the baptism of good works.
The idea here is that if I’m a good person or I do enough good things, then I’ll be right with God. And unfortunately, even within the church this is a false hope that many have given themselves too.
The evidence of that is found in the Barna survey I mentioned a few moments ago. Because when asked if being good enough and doing good works will get you into heaven, here’s what people said:
Of those professing to being Evangelical Christians, 58% rejected that idea.
Of those professing to be Pentecostal Christians, 49% rejected that idea.
Of those professing to be Main Line Protestant, 61% rejected that idea.
Of those professing to be Catholic, 85% rejected that idea.
Which means on average, 63% of those practicing Christian Faith believe as long as a person is good enough and does enough good works, then they will go to heaven.
You want to know what the problem with that is? The problem is, the Bible doesn’t say that. In fact, it says the opposite. The Bible says you aren’t and never could be good good enough.
The Apostle Paul verifies this as he quotes the OT:
10 as it is written:
“None is righteous, no, not one;
11 no one understands;
no one seeks for God.
12 All have turned aside; together they have become worthless;
no one does good,
not even one.”
Paul says there’s not a human being alive that is good or righteous.
Not only that, but even if you try to be good, your goodness won’t be enough. The Apostle Paul puts it like this:
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
In this passage Paul says it’s by grace through faith in Jesus that a person is saved, and not by works. He then says this in Romans 11:
6 But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace.
Paul’s point here is that salvation is a gift that comes through faith in Jesus. And a gift is only a gift if it wasn’t worked for. Which means, salvation isn’t something you can earn. It’s only something that can be given to you.
All that to say, if your hope is in the baptism of goodness and good works, then your hope is in something that can’t and won’t save you. Because at the end of the day, the only thing that can save you is faith in Jesus. The belief that Jesus died for your sins, and that if you put your hope in Him and make Him Lord of your life, you will be saved. The Apostle Paul puts it like this:
9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
And that is the truth that we must share with others.
This leads us to a final reason we need to tell the truth about Jesus:
Reason #3 - Jesus is the only way for a person to be saved.
The reality is, if a person wants to be right with God, Jesus is the only one that can make that happen. Jesus puts it like this:
13 “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many.
The point Jesus is making here is that there is only one way to God, and that’s through Him. That’s why it’s narrow. But wide is the gate false hopes and false gods. Wide is the gate that leads to destruction.
But the problem is, not everybody believes that, including Christians. Because once again, according to the Barna poll, Christians are divided on this. Because when asked if Jesus is the only way to salvation, here’s what they said:
Of those professing to being Evangelical Christians, 28% rejected that idea.
Of those professing to be Pentecostal Christians, 45% rejected that idea.
Of those professing to be Main Line Protestant, 59% rejected that idea.
Of those professing to be Catholic, 72% rejected that idea.
Which means on average, 51% of those practicing Christian Faith don’t believe Jesus is the only way for a person to be saved.
Which again, goes against scripture. Because according to Jesus:
6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
Jesus says He’s the only way to the Father. He’s the narrow gate. A truth that we must make a priority to share.
Because at the end of the day, if a person hasn’t put their faith in Jesus, and they haven’t made Him Lord of their life, they can’t be saved. Which means, they won’t inherit eternal life.
Now, at this point, some of you might be thinking, “Ok Pastor, this is all good stuff. But it’s so basic. Doesn’t everybody know this?”
If it was basic, then everybody would know it. But the fact is, not everybody knows the truth about Jesus, and some, even within the church have rejected it. And so our number 1 priority as a church is to make sure that everybody knows the truth about Jesus. That’s where it all starts. That’s the foundation we build upon. That truth is the beginning of the extraordinary work that God wants to do in and through a church.
So, as we close this morning, I close with three questions that we all need to be able to say yes to if we want to be a church that God works through in an extraordinary way:
Question #1 - Do you know the truth about Jesus?
In other words, do you know who He is? Do you know He’s the sinless Son of God. And is that something you believe to be true?
Question #2 - Have you been baptized into Jesus?
In other words, have you put your faith in Jesus? Is he your savior? Is He the one you are banking your eternity on? Is He the one your hope for eternal life is in? Or, have you put your hope in something else? Something that doesn’t save.
Question #3 - Are you willing to tell other people the truth?
In other words, are you willing to stand up and proclaim the truth about Jesus? Like Paul, are you prepared to tell other people who Jesus is? Are you prepared to correct them when it becomes clear their hope is in the wrong thing? Are you willing to be a witness that rises above untruth and proudly proclaims what is true.
Because the fact of the matter is, if you want God to use you, and if we want God to use our church in an extraordinary way, then we have to be about the truth. The truth that Jesus is God. The truth that He’s the one who saves. The truth that it’s only through Him that a person can be saved?
My prayer today is, that we as a church can say yes to each of those questions. Because if we can, then we are at the beginning stages for an extraordinary work that I believe God is getting ready to do in the days ahead.
Let’s Pray
A lot of people have put their hope in the wrong savior.
Everybody needs Jesus.
When sharing our faith, we need to make sure people have a proper understanding of who Jesus is.
When sharing our faith, we need to tell people about the Holy Spirit.
When sharing our faith, we need to make sure we encourage new believers to seek spiritual empowerment.