No Greater Love
John 15:13
Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down
one's life for his friends.(NKJV)
We know that God is love
1 John 4:10
In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He
loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.(NKJV)
In God’s gift to mankind we see the greatest
expression of love.
Why did Jesus have to go to the cross? Sin
He paid the penalty satisfying the wrath of God
The passion of Christ refers to His sufferings
beginning in the garden
The passion of Chrsit-
Mocked
three times by Caiphas, Herod and Pilate’s men
Accused by the chief priest and scribes
Spat upon
Hands and feet were pierced
Struck on the head with a reed
Took blows to His face
His beard was plucked
Hung on a cross
Suffered shame and humiliation
Crucified with sinners and numbered with
transgressors
Was offer vinegar mixed with gall---explain
He was forsaken
It’s really hard to conceptualize the
extent of His suffering
The extent of the sufferings was God’s idea not
mans.
The scourging by the Roman guards alone could kill a
man.
The flagellum was a cruel instrument
designed to tear away the flesh leaving it in bleeding shreds.
We may be partially aware of the physical pain but
sometimes not understand the emotional anguish.
2 Corinthians 5:21
For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us,
that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.(NKJV)
First we have to recognize how disgusting sin is to
God.
For the sins of the whole world—past present and future ---
to be imputed to Him had to be extremely repulsive.
Jesus said in the garden let this cup pass from
me.
The sins of the whole world imputed to Him yet
without sin.
He in effect became the vicarious sacrifice
receiving the punishment that we deserved.
Even though He made such a tremendous
sacrifice and such a great display of love---some will never receive
the gift of salvation
An
unbelievable thought.
Some disbelieve whether the sacrifice of Christ
really ever happened.
The crucifixion of Jesus Christ was prophesied
hundreds of years before it happened.
There are over 100 predictions in the Old Testament
concerning Christ the Messiah.
We can be sure that these prophecies were not
conspired after the fact with the discovery of the dead sea scrolls.
They have been proven to exist prior to the time
Jesus walked this earth.
A scientist picked out just 48 prophecies
and determined the probability of one man randomly fulfilling them all.
If you have ever had doubts about Jesus being the
Son of God take a look at this.
Probability Of Jesus Not Being The Messiahis One in One followed by 157
zeros chance.
The fact that Jesus Christ was the promised Messiah
is indisputable.
With indisputable evidence we could
ask the question today---How do we get to heaven?
We will answer that question today!
The bible is clear that in latter times
some will turn away from the faith giving attention to seducing spirits and doctrines
of demons.
Certainly there may be people sitting in church pews
in
Intellectual knowledge- doesn’t prove true faith
Living a good life and doing the best we can
doesn’t prove anything
Religious involvement is not necessarily proof of
true faith
Active ministry doesn’t necessarily
indicate a spiritual re-birth
Will there actually be some that think they’re going
to heaven and wont?
Matthew 7: says Many will say to Me in that day,
'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name,
and done many wonders in Your name?' and
He will say 'I never knew you
What a horrible thing to hear from God---I
never knew you
Some may say I am going to heaven because a preacher told
me I would.
I believe in God and I go to church
sometimes and I will go to heaven.
I am trying to live the best life I can.
I have prayed to God and went to an
altar one time.
I was baptized
While these are good things they don’t
meet the requirement for receiving the gift of eternal life.
John 1:12
But as many as received Him, to them He gave the
right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name:(NKJV)
But as many as received Him----Some only want to
receive eternal life
In receiving salvation we first
recognize why we need salvation.
We ask for forgiveness and repent of
our sins.
We make a confession of faith in Jesus
as our savior
We believe that He died was buried and
rose again on the third day.
We confess Jesus Christ as Lord of our lives.
Ephesians 2:8-9
For by grace you have been saved through faith, and
that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should
boast.(NKJV)
Since the bible talks about some departing
from the faith how do we know that we are continuing in faith.
The bible says that He will present us blameless if
indeed we continue in faith not departing from the hope of the
gospel.
A key question then is---How do we evaluate our
faith?
True saving faith will manifest itself in works
and righteous living.
Works never improve our standing with God but
give evidence to our faith.
The book of James says faith without
works is dead---an inoperative dead faith
If you see very little works in your
life and not much righteous living what do you do?
(Go to work and get real busy?) NO
Reaffirm your Faith in Jesus Christ ---A critically important thing to do
Luke 18:8 says when the Son of Man comes, will He
find faith on the earth?"(NKJV)
We all have
influences in our lives.
Even with all the knowledge concerning
salvation and the admonishment to continue in faith some will not
Now let’s add Satan’s influence which is so
prevalent.
2 Corinthians 4:3-4
But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to
those who are perishing, whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do
not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the
image of God, should shine on them.(NKJV)
The god of this age refers to Satan -
blinding them and preventing them from seeing the illumination of the
gospel message
This refers to the non-christian but
also sheds light on Satan’s deceptive methods on those who have professed
Christ as savior.
Endeavoring to see your faith in Jesus Christ
dissipated.
Sometimes the attractions of this world start
looking pretty good.
Everything that Satan offers is a counterfeit and is
sub-standard to what God offers.
God doesn’t call you out of darkness
into a life of misery but into a life of abundance.
A life surrendered to Jesus Christ is
the more productive happier life.
As we slightly move toward worldly things
we start to falter in our faith in Christ.
As Christians we on purpose hold to, cling to
and trust in Jesus Christ as our savior.
Allowing more God influence that
anything else.
What do you believe about eternity??
It’s an easy decision to make today
when you realize the significance of eternity.
Matthew 16:26
For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole
world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his
soul?(NKJV)
What would we sell our soul for?
Can you see how Satan with his influence
gets us to sell out for worthless things?
What we are about to do is more important than a
doctor performing surgery.
The decision you make today has eternal
implications.
The deception of the enemy is that you
will be giving up what you like when you actually will be happier and have more
peace.
The deception of the enemy is that you
need to get things straightened out in your life and then come to God---God
says come as you are
The deception of the enemy says you
have plenty of time when you are not promised tomorrow.
You may never experience a stronger drawing
from the Lord than you do today.
If you pass up this opportunity what
makes you think you will ever respond?
In John 6:44 Jesus said
No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me
draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day.(NKJV)
If you were to die today do you know for sure where
you would spend eternity?
Accept Jesus Christ into your heart right now!