Sermon 112298

Acts 8:34-38                                        The Joy of Salvation                                          11/22/98

                                                                                                                             ABCC

I.   Introduction                                                                                                                       647

In the beginning, God created Adam & we see him there in the garden of Eden joyful & blessed of the Lord.  Then God made Eve & the two were made one in marriage which brought added joy & blessing & happiness.  Then along comes the old serpent (the devil) in craftiness & cleverness to steal their joy…(Jn. 10:10a) and he succeeded.  Adam & Eve yielded to this temptation which has caused sadness, grief, misery and pain for all mankind.  The misery of sin has been inherited by every individual in every generation & this eunuch felt the sting & misery of sin before he ever experienced the joy of salvation!

II.    The Misery of Sin

A.     A guilty conscience, worry & fear (Gen. 3:8-10; Pr. 28:1a) – w/o relief = destruction (Judas)

B.      Isolation from God your creator (Gen. 3:23-24) – roaming through life w/o wisdom, guidance…

C.      Spiritual death, despair & hopelessness (Gen. 2:16-17; Eph. 2:1-3,11-12)

Insensitivity to God & his word, warnings, dangers, the way out of misery…(example – D. Badgett)

D.     A slave of sin and Satan (Rom. 6:17a,19b,20)

As a slave of sin & Satan, you have to obey your master.  And even if you get some brief relief, because you are addicted to sin, you come back again & again plunging into lust, greed, drugs…this is true misery!!!!!

E.      Being unfulfilled, dissatisfied, discontent (Eccl. 1:8-9) – the more you get, the more you want!

If that was the end of the story for man, there would be no need for us to gather here today…But thanks be to God the plan of redemption through Jesus Christ delivers us from this misery and brings us into the joy of salvation.  “My joy” in gospel of John

The Joy of Salvation, pg. 2

III.   The Joy of Salvation

A.     To know why you are in misery – not because of society, background…but rather your sin!

B.      To know who you are (Eph. 2:8-9) – a sinner saved by grace

C.      To know who Jesus is & to actually know Him (Ac. 8:30-31,34-35)

D.     To know where you came from (Jn. 1:1-3)

E.      To know where you are going (Jn 14:1-3; 1Th. 4:13-18)

F.      To know what you should be doing now (Ac. 8:36-38) – Thy will be done

G.     To know that you have obeyed God & He will lead you on in life (v. 39)

The joy of salvation is to know that I have been delivered from the misery of sin.  In Romans 6 Paul says, “For sin shall not be master over you…”.  “But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin…”  “But now having been freed from in and enslaved to God…”  My soul is free, my mind is free, my heart, hands, eyes, ears, mouth, feet, attitude…Jesus has set me free from worry, despair, fear of death & man…