MELVIN NEWLAND, MINISTER R IDGE CHAPEL, KANSAS, OK
JESUS, MY SAVIOR!
(PowerPoints used with this message are available for free. Just email me at mnewland@sstelco.com and request #389.)
TEXT: John 1:14; Galatians 4:4-5; Genesis 3:15; Isaiah 7:14; Hebrews 7:25-27; Luke 2:11 (All Scriptures are from the NIrV for ease of understanding.)
Before I begin my sermon I want to say that I adapted much of the material for this message from an excellent sermon by Jeff Strite, a preacher in Indiana, & from an article by Doug Redford, a retired editor & Bible college professor.
ILL. This Thursday, July 20, 2023 will mark 54 years since the Apollo 11 moon landing. The crew consisted of three American astronauts: Michael Collins, Buzz Aldrin, & Neil Armstrong.
Even back then, some folks refused to believe a man had actually walked on the moon. “Why, on TV they can make anything look like it happened,” some claimed.
Millions of Americans watched the landing on television. Walter Cronkite was at his news desk covering the landing. He was considered “the most trusted man in America.” He heard the words of the crew when they touched down on the moon: “The eagle has landed,” they said.
And Cronkite was speechless. He took off his glasses & simply said, “Whew!” It was hard to believe that humans had safely landed on the moon.
Neil Armstrong, who took the first steps on the moon, said, “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”
But as amazing a feat as it was for man to walk on the moon, it cannot compare to the “giant leap” that occurred more than 2,000 years ago when, as John 1:14 says, “The Word became a human being. He made his home with us.”
On one occasion, Armstrong said he considered himself an ordinary man who was privileged to do some extraordinary things. But when God came to earth in the form of the baby Jesus, he was an extraordinary being coming as an ordinary baby with an extraordinary purpose - & that was to be our Savior.
(Adapted:Doug Redford, Christian Standard, July/August, 2023)
ILL. A Christian gave a Bible to someone who was going through a rough time. The man’s life had been one disaster after the other, but in all that time he never made an effort to follow Jesus.
So, as the Christian gave a Bible to the man he encouraged him to read it, & suggested that, since it was December, that the man might start by reading the Christmas story.
The man looked at him with real surprise & said: “You mean the Christmas story is in the Bible?” (Rodney Buchanan in Sermon Central)
I. THE BIRTH OF JESUS IS IMPORTANT!
There are 2 Gospels that deal with Jesus’ birth – for a total of 196 verses. And that's not counting Galatians 4:4-5 which says:
“But then the right time came. God sent his Son. A woman gave birth to him. … He came to set free those who were under the law. He wanted us to be adopted as children with all the rights children have.”
In addition, there are a number of prophecies in the O.T. like Genesis 3:15 where God tells Satan: “I will put hatred between you & the woman. Your children & her children will be enemies. Her son will crush your head. And you will crush his heel."
That term “her son” points TO Jesus, because back then, when speaking of a “son”, you would ordinarily describe him as his father’s son or as “their” son.
But this boy was only described as being the son of a woman. Which, of course, is what Isaiah 7:14 declared would happen: “The Lord himself will give you a miraculous sign. The virgin is going to have a baby. She will give birth to a son. And he will be called Immanuel.”
Now, my point is this: IF you take the 196 verses in the N.T. Gospels, & combine that with all the prophesies about the Messiah, things like, “The virgin is going to have a baby” - you have a lot of verses. And that means that the story of Jesus’ birth is important to God & is important to our faith.
II. JESUS CAME TO BE OUR SAVIOR
Now, I don’t know exactly who decided Jesus was born on Dec. 25th, or who was responsible for a lot of stuff that is now being done during what we call the “Christmas Season.” But what I do know is that our celebration of Christmas can be a powerful time for evangelism.
ILL. According to a survey conducted by “Pew Research” back in 2015, just 8 years ago, 81% of non-Christians in the United States celebrate Christmas in one way or another, including Buddhists & Hindus.
And that opens the door to talk to people about Jesus. It opens the door to introduce why Jesus was born. And it opens the door to explain why they, & why we, need a Savior. That’s why Jesus was born. He was born to be our Savior!
That’s what the Angels told the Shepherds abiding in the field - Luke 2:11 says, “Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you. He is Christ the Lord.” Jesus was born to be a Savior. But what does that mean? What did Jesus come to save us from?
Hebrews 7:25-27 says, “People now come to God through him. And he is able to save them completely & for all time. Jesus lives forever. He prays for them. A high priest like that meets our need. He is holy, pure & without
blame.
“He isn't like other people. He does not sin. He is lifted high above the heavens. He isn't like the other high priests. They need to offer sacrifices day after day. First they bring offerings for their own sins.
“Then they do it for the sins of the people. But Jesus gave one sacrifice for the sins of the people. He gave it once & for all time. He did it by offering himself.”
III. JESUS CAME TO SAVE US FROM OUR SINS
Jesus came to offer Himself as a sacrifice for sins. For our sins. He came to offer Himself to save us from our sins.
ILL. Jeff Strite did a little research on the word: “Savior”. And he found the definitions to be interesting. According to the Cambridge Dictionary, a Savior “was a person who saves someone from danger or harm.”
The Collins Dictionary said it was “an individual who saved others from ruin, or defeat.” And the Britannica.com Dictionary explains that it is: #1: Someone who saves something or someone from danger, harm, failure, etc.; #2: used by Christians to refer to Jesus Christ.
Danger, Ruin, Failure, Defeat. Those were all descriptions of what Sin does to people. And those were all things
that Jesus came to save us from.
Danger, Ruin, Failure, Defeat. Sin damages us. It can defeat us. But how does sin damage us?
ILL. Craig Smith wrote, “One of the main things sin does to us is to create shame. Guilt is when people say, “I did something bad”, but shame is the feeling that results from that guilt.
“Shame says ''I am bad. And because of the bad things I've done, I’m completely worthless.”
Brené Brown said, “I think shame is destructive & potentially lethal.” She warned how shame… “is the gremlin that laughs & plays two tape recordings in our mind: One recording says, ‘You’re never good enough’, & the other says, ‘Who do you think you are?’
The reason we feel ashamed is because we would like to think we are “nice people”. But when we do or say or think things we shouldn’t, it tells us that we aren’t so nice after all.
It creates a disappointment, a feeling of failure, a feeling of worthlessness & emptiness. We weren’t who we thought we were - & that can be devastating.
Shame is the feeling that makes people remember what they’ve done in the past & when they do, they say to themselves, “That was so stupid! I hate myself for doing that.” Have you ever felt that way? I have!
ILL. C.S. Lewis said, “Satan’s strategy is for us to become preoccupied with our failures. From then on, he thinks his battle is won.”
ILL. Sin becomes a cage for people. Paul Harvey in his series, “The Rest of the Story” told about a preacher named S.D. Gordon who met a 10 year old boy on the street carrying a beat-up bird cage that contained several miserable looking small birds.
Curious, Gordon asked the boy what he was going to do with the birds. “I’m going to have some fun with them.” the boy answered. “But after that?” the preacher asked. “Oh, I have some cats at home, & they like birds.” said the boy.
The preacher was bothered by the boy’s callousness & asked him what he would take for them. Surprised, the boy blurted: “Mister, you don’t want to buy these birds. They’re just ugly field birds. They don’t sing or anything.”
Nevertheless, the preacher persisted, & soon made a deal with the boy for the birds & the birdcage. Then as soon as the boy was gone, the preacher opened the cage & released the birds.
On Sunday morning the preacher took the old cage to the pulpit & told the people what had happened.
Then, according to Paul Harvey, he told them another story - a story about how Satan caught the world & filled his cage with people.
Jesus asked Satan, “What are you going to do with all those people?” And Satan answered, “I’m going to have some fun with them; make them miserable. And I’ll watch as they hurt & kill each other.”
Then Jesus asked, “When you get tired of that, what will you do with them?” “I’ll take them with me into Hell,” Satan answered. “They’re no good anyway.”
Jesus asked Satan what he would take for them. “You can’t be serious,” the devil said. “You wouldn’t want them. They will laugh at you, mock you, spit on You, & maybe even hammer nails into You. They’re just no good.”
“But how much?” the Lord asked again. And Satan gleefully said, “All your blood; that’s the price.” Then Jesus paid the price, took the cage, & opened the door. (Paul Harvey, The Rest Of The Story)
You see, that’s what Jesus came to do for us. Jesus came to open the cage – to set us free. Jesus died on the cross to heal us of the damages caused by our sins.
As 1 Peter 2:24 says, “He himself carried our sins in his body on the cross. He did it so that we would die as far as sins are concerned. Then we would lead godly lives. His wounds have made you whole.”
His sacrifice gave us the opportunity to start all over again. He forgives us so we don’t have to be ashamed of our past any longer.
But there’s one more thing that’s even more important to us. You see, the shame we experience when we sin is like an alarm bell. It’s a warning signal that says that something is seriously wrong in our lives.
It’s like the pain our body experiences sometimes. Pain is often a signal that something else is wrong in our body.
Pain sometimes warns us of serious illnesses or broken bones.
Shame brought on by our sins is like that. It’s a signal & a reminder that our sins had cut us off from God.
The Bible tells us that when Jesus came to earth “all had sinned over & over again”. Like them we too deserve to be punished & there is nothing we can do to erase our sins.
Romans 6:23 says, “When you sin, the pay you get is death.” Then it goes on to say, “But God gives you the gift of eternal life because of what Christ Jesus our Lord has done.”
Let me remind you once again, there was a baby boy born in Bethlehem many years ago. He was a gift to all mankind, wrapped in swaddling clothes. He came so that we might know God & that we might have a way of forgiveness for our sins. He was born to be our Savior & the Savior of all who will accept Him.
The little baby soon became a man. And crowds that once had cheered Him, became a howling mob. “Crucify Him, Crucify Him,” was their demand.
They nailed Him to a rugged cross – soon stained with His blood. And there we see God’s Gift of love - a true gift from the Father up above.
Jesus’ sacrifice of himself on the cross for all of humanity’s sin was the reason he made that “giant leap” to earth. The only thing as good as that is the giant leap those who faithfully serve Jesus will make when moving from earth to Heaven to be with God forever.
Jesus is God’s gift to me & you, if you’ll accept Him. Will you? Why put it off any longer? Will you come as we stand & sing?
INVITATION HYMN: Jesus, I Come!
