Imagine Redemption

We are in a four-week series called “I can only imagine” based off of the movie of the same name. Last week we talked about imagining a father… A perfect heavenly father who loves you a million times more than I could ever love anyone; a heavenly father who is perfect, gracious, loving and all of his dealings with us.

This amazing father offers one of the rarest commodities on the planet; forgiveness. He resets the relationship. He removes the garbage. He doesn’t pretend that the sin didn’t happen, but he covers it, he removes the shame, the embarrassment is gone, he makes the relationship what it ought to have been all along.

Today we will talk about imagining something called redemption.

Chip and Joanna Gains are killing me. Not just them but all of those programs on HGTV. Are any of you men with me on this? So these people take outdated properties and pour a ton of money into them and… Presto… Now they have their dream house! And suddenly we need a wall with ship lap on it. And better landscape. And an open concept.

There is a Bible name for stuff like that – redemption. To redeem something simply means that somebody puts up the money to buy back or to purchase something so that it can become their own. HGTV features properties that have seen better days but now they’re going to get a new chance at life.

This happens to automobiles as well. Take a look at these automobiles that have been redeemed. Pictures…

The specialty of Jesus Christ is doing this very same thing but not to property, not to automobiles, and not to furniture, but to human beings who were originally made in his image but became horribly scarred and disfigured by sin - our sin and the sins others committed against us.

Jesus is called a Redeemer because he rescues the sinner from his/her problems and dilemmas, he buys back those who have been given up on, he takes the least likely and transforms them into a trophy of his grace.

You see… Jesus is interested in…

- Your health

- your heart

- your faith

- your relationships

- what you believe

- the details of your life

- your sanity

But what we’re going to discover today is that Jesus doesn’t just redeem people but he also lays his hands and redeems every messed up thing in life.

If you watched the movie “I can only imagine” you see a picture of how God takes an angry and alcohol fueled raging man and can change not only him but also the actions of his life that harmed many people.

Only God can do something like that. That’s why we’re here today because we want God to do something like that… For you.

If old cars can be brought back to life… If old homes can be brought back to life… If old furniture can be brought back to life… Why can’t people be brought back to life?

Isn’t this part of what happened in the prodigal son story? We have focused on the prodigal son story the last two Sundays. Good father, bad son.

Good father gives bad son is inheritance.

Bad son wastes his inheritance on everything bad while good father hopes that he will come home.

Bad son ends up in a pigsty.

Bad son wakes up and feels the gravity of his sin and decides to go home.

Bad son doesn’t know what will happen when he gets home.

Good father sees bad son walking up the road and smothers him with grace and kindness and hugs and kisses.

Good father restores bad son to the family.

Good father throws a party and it’s at that party that he says this… Luke 15:23 …and let us eat and celebrate. 24 For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’

Right there is the power that our heavenly father has called redemption – the dead live again. The lost are found again. The orphan is part of the family again. The dirty or clean again. The useless are useful again. The broken are fixed. Messes become messages. Tests become testimonies.

This morning let me paint you 4 pictures of redemption. I love these kind of messages because we’re talking about what God does and what God does is full of hope and gives us faith to trust him in the process.

Four things this morning;

1. God redeems people.

2. God redeems souls, hearts, bodies and minds.

3. God redeems your worst days.

4. Let the redeemed of the Lord say so.

1. God redeems people.

What is God’s response to all of us less-than-perfect people, and messed up people, and even those who seem to have gone too far?