Encountering God, All Are Welcomed
Encountering Christ • Sermon • Submitted
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INTRO:
AFTERPARTY - May 11: Funnel Cakes, Games, and Movie
5-9pm @ the church
Camp July 15th-20th
New Series - Encountering Gods
Jesus meets us where we are
Nothing separates us from Christ except our unbelief
Why study this?
See the character of God
He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,
We can be without excuse of not coming to Him
Look at two groups of people Christ first encountered
The Least of These
The Least of These
Who can come to Christ?
Anyone - no stipulations except to believe
Class doesn’t matter
Luke
Financial status doesn’t matter
Popularity doesn’t matter
Abilities don’t matter
And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
What was so special about shepherds?
Had a bad reputation
Considered unclean by their line of work
Very gruff - reason for their great fear
Testimony was not admissable in court - Unreliable
One of the first people to hear about the coming of the Messiah
The message of the Gospel came to the least of these, the last people expected to receive the gift of salvation
What does this mean
The Greatest Among Us
The Greatest Among Us
The Message of the Gospel came to another group of people - the 3 wise men
Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”
Who were the three wise men?
Magi - astrologers
studied the stars
ancient scientist - PHD level guys
Highly respected men, vastly intelligent - knew Jewish history and prophecy
Had wealth
The birth of the Messiah brought desire to worship in their hearts
Left their homes to follow a star to bring their gifts to worship a baby
Jesus moves the hearts of the wise and powerful
Christ Breaks All Walls
Christ Breaks All Walls
What does this mean for us?
Anyone is able to receive the Gospel
The poorest and outcasted
The richest and best
the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction:
Romans 10:
For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
Doesn’t matter the background there is room at the foot of the cross!
STOP
What hope do we get from knowing that anyone can come to Christ? How does this help us in sharing the Gospel with those around us?
Why would God not just offer salvation to the best people (the ones who seem to have it all together) or to the worst (the ones who seem to be in desperate need) only? At the cross we are all equal, God sees the heart.
If nothing we have or the gifts we have been given matter in our salvation, what should we do with our resources and our abilities? (Ex. If you’re smart how could you use that for the glory of God? Musically Talented? Athletic? Artsy? Wealthy? etc. )