Easter Message - Jesus Came to Save the World
Notes
Transcript
A few weeks ago i made the statement from
Hero to Zero
A Short phrase to describe most of Holy Week.
To experience the Palm waving entry
the Temple is cleansed
Jesus is teaching the disciples for the last time, cursing a fig tree to teach a lesson
He is betrayed, arrested beaten and hung on the cross. and then placed in a borrowed tomb
Witnessing Friday The Cross.. His Death
and the Silence of Saturday --- Oh can you just imagine the depressive interactions of the disciples
anyone could understand that all they had hoped for
appeared lost.....
BUT
We know what happened on the third day!!
and we gather today to celebrate that
HE IS RISEN
I am reminded a an OT verse this morning
Isaiah 25:1 “1 O Lord, you are my God; I will exalt you;
I will praise your name, for you have done wonderful things,
plans formed of old, faithful and sure.”
God has always had a plan
Today is Easter and we celebrate the love and grace of God
That bring us the gift of eternal togetherness with God
We celebrate His Victory which became our Victory
We celebrate the Resurrection
Matthew 28:6 (ESV)
6 He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay.
the presence — of our Lord, our Saviour
Able to reside inside of Us
Sitting at the Right Hand of God the Father because of the Cross
1 Timothy 1:15 (ESV)
15 The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.
Amen
_________________________
But Easter and its Great message of Victory came at a price
Not 100.00 dollars
or a hundred shekels
Not even for a billion dollars
It came at the cost of Christ’s life
Romans 5:8 (ESV)
8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
It comes at the cost of your life
You must trade your life for His
Galatians 2:20 (ESV)
20 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
It is not a cheap grace available from a bubble
Gum machine
or a vending machine
but
It was paid for with the life and blood of Christ
Our joy in Christ alone comes at the cost of a changed life
Changed life is a Christ Life
Jesus came to save the world
John 12:44–50 (ESV)
44 And Jesus cried out and said, “Whoever believes in me, believes not in me but in him who sent me.
45 And whoever sees me sees him who sent me.
46 I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness.
47 If anyone hears my words and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world.
48 The one who rejects me and does not receive my words has a judge; the word that I have spoken will judge him on the last day.
49 For I have not spoken on my own authority, but the Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment—what to say and what to speak.
50 And I know that his commandment is eternal life. What I say, therefore, I say as the Father has told me.”
Study Revelations.
There will be a judgment for those who are not in Him
and Rewards at the Bema Seat for us who love and abide in Him
Our mission is to do as the Son
Our mission is to die to self and live for others
I fail at this --
and if you don’t think you do you are missing the concept.
Dying to self is not being defensive about your actions.
it is hugging a dirty stinky person that just told you he has head lice
it is giving the last 10.00 in your wallet to serve another
It may be leaving a trespass against you UNanswered and UNRetaliated.
it may be having a hard conversation with a loved one
We often suffer from wanting to do Christianity
in Comfort and on our terms.
Truth is that is not a Christian life at all.
Have you seen it in our study of John?
Our mission have you seen and heard it
At Horizon
it is a church seeking to model of Jesus
We believe we exist to
Glorify God by Growing Others in Christ
Deeper than that though
We preach that everything we
Do must be for the Glory of the Father and His Son Jesus
We are a
Disciple ship church
Preach Him and Him alone
Because
He is your first love
He alone is worthy of your salvation
There is no other way to the Father except through the Son
Easter is the celebration of the Christ conquering death
We celebrate victory over Sin
Over The curse
And the God of Promise overcoming
We can overcome because of Him
Sin
Death
Worldly views
Worldly actions
Addictions can be crushed
Pain and hurt removed
We can be healed
All to Glorify Him
All because
John 3:16 (ESV)
16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
We have seen the movie the passion of the Christ
We have seen the blood the punishment
we have all been guilty of living a life that doesn’t stretch us
We have all lied to ourselves about not being called to do something we know we are called to do
This can take accepting a lesser role in the church, but it is the one that we are called to do.
it may simply be choosing Church over the choice to sleep in
THE point is that
Jesus came to save the whole world all mankind
it wasn’t comfortable or with out pain
it was to Glorify God no matter what.
God is glorified by our progress not our perfection.
Jesus- Glorifys God by Growing Others in Him
Jesus has in just in chapter 12 shown us how to deal with
Four Groups of People
Four Groups of People
Our Inner Circle 1:1-11
Our family and friends the love who love us and the ones that betray us
Our sphere of influence 12:19
these are our like minded but different believe people.
like the Jewish pilgrims like minded in Jewish but missing the same mark of faith in Christ
Our Stretch Relationship
These would be your Gentiles
your visitors, your casual contacts
God fearers but not Christians
The Aggressive Disrupters
These are the haters
They have an axe to grind
They are your “jewish leaders your Pharisees” that you face in life.
The Hardest Part
The Hardest Part
Jesus came to save ALL
Our greatest testimony should be the way that we live our life
Colossians 2:6 (ESV)
6 Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him,
our lives must be a model to our Faith
Here is a question for you from our verses
Do you fully BELIEVE?
Do you HEAR Him
and most importantly do you OBEY?
Hearing is not the goal
Doing is the GOAL!
are you all in for Christ?
are you living a life that is a first responder mentality?
are you dressed in your armour as a EMT, nurse or firefighter would be?
Does any one who sees you know by your armour that you are a Christian?
a first responder for Christ
1 Peter 3:15 (ESV)
15 but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect,
are you trained up to know the principals of the faith?
it is our mission to help you with this — are you engaged in a Discipleship Program
do you have the degree or certifications to do the work that you were hired for?
i don’t want a non trained Doctor working on me
nor do i want an untrained, uncalled Christian building up my training to live as Christ desires me to live.
Untrained Uncalled Christians lean on their understanding
We must learn to Hear and Obey God’s Words.
If you are trained up are you staying current with your CEUs
your continuing education credits
Again in life i want the best in a life and death situation
I want to know that the medical practitioner is trained and up to date on the work they are called to do.
Friends
Being Christian is a life journey
not a cross on the wall or one around your neck
Being Christian is
knowing Him and Him knowing You
it is listening and knows the light
John 12:46–47 (ESV)
46 I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness.
47 If anyone hears my words and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world.
Jesus is the WAY
Jesus is our TRUTH
JESUS IS THE LIFE
Being Christian is knowing that judgement is for the non believer, or the one walking in the world but still proclaiming Christ
There is a monumental difference between
Saying you love Christ
and walking in the world
and Loving Christ and walking in the light daily with Him
John 12:48 (ESV)
48 The one who rejects me and does not receive my words has a judge; the word that I have spoken will judge him on the last day.
Listen again to our verses today
John 12:44–45 (ESV)
44 And Jesus cried out and said, “Whoever believes in me, believes not in me but in him who sent me.
45 And whoever sees me sees him who sent me.
John 12:49–50 (ESV)
49 For I have not spoken on my own authority, but the Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment—what to say and what to speak.
50 And I know that his commandment is eternal life. What I say, therefore, I say as the Father has told me.”
Jesus came to save the world
on this Easter Day
we proclaim our thankfulness
for the
Sacrifice of Jesus on that Cross
Victory over Death
the Resurrection of our Lord
Will you say this with me today
I believe in God,
the Father Almighty,
Creator of Heaven and earth;
and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, Our Lord,
Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried.
He descended into Hell.
The third day He arose again from the dead;
He ascended into Heaven,
sitteth at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty;
from thence He shall come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the Holy Christ Following Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.
SENDING OUT
SENDING OUT
On this Easter Morning
May we be inspired to GO
To Glorify God in all that we do
May we be committed to being a First Responder for Christ
May we be willing to strengthen our weaknesses
and be BOLD in our Strength for His Purpose
Isaiah 25:1 “1 O Lord, you are my God; I will exalt you;
I will praise your name, for you have done wonderful things,
plans formed of old, faithful and sure.”
Amen