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Romans 5:6-8
“From Miserable to Marvelous”
“The hope of salvation is based on the assurance that God really loves us.”
Sunday Morning Sermon
01.20.08
Intro:
http://myspacetv.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=2368969
(Start with title and Text)
2 part question – how many of you can relate to one of the hands? Come on, Paul describes himself as the worst of sinners – how many of you can relate to one of the hands? How many of you are thankful for Jesus and his forgiveness? I know I am. Our hope of salvation is based on the assurance that God really loves us. (Repeat) If God didn’t love us – he would not have sent Jesus, and we would still be dead in our sins. God is very clear about his love for you, and he wants you to know him and his love.
It is God’s desire for us, this morning, to identify attitudes, actions and the excuses we have – that prevent us from gaining a relationship with him, and moving to maturity. Church, God loves you just as you are, but he loves you too much to leave you where you are. It is God’s desire for us this morning to remove things in our lives. To get rid of what I call the miserable – relationships that are not holy, friendships that drag you down, situations that keep you busy, unforgiveness that you hang on to, justifications that you wear like a badge of honor for certain attitudes or apathy that you have. It is God’s desire for us, this morning, to not only identify and remove but to move ourselves towards the marvelous. From Misery to the Marvelous – God does not want you to live a miserable life – God does not want the emptiness and loneliness that is the result of your sin. It is in the marvelous that we have eternal life, salvation, and heaven – the Bible says that he will wipe every tear, from our eyes. The same verse from Revelation says that the Lamb will be our shepherd, and he will lead us to springs of living water. Church, that will be a marvelous time.
If you have your Bibles turn with me to Roman 5:6-8 (read) (Advance)
I see two things this morning – actually three but the middle one is the same. It is God’s purpose this morning that we in our individual lives and together as the church turn ourselves towards his will and his purpose.
(Advance)
I. Wrath to Grace
The Bible paints a picture:
a. Of God’s wrath
i. Old Testament –
1. Prideful people (clear disobedience) would bring about God’s wrath – his anger
2. Normally it included destruction – death or getting kicked out of lands – (Advance)
Isaiah 9:19 (NIV) By the wrath of the LORD Almighty the land will be scorched and the people will be fuel for the fire; no one will spare his brother.
(Advance)
Nahum 1:6 (NIV) Who can withstand his indignation? Who can endure his fierce anger? His wrath is poured out like fire; the rocks are shattered before him.
God’s wrath is not where anyone wanted to be. Yet, God’s people found themselves at the center of God’s wrath on several occasions, throughout the Old Testament.. Starting with the garden of Eden – he kicked Adam and Eve out – The flood is another example – God provided Noah the means and ability to build a ship for salvation, but destroyed mankind in the process – Joshua’s army – Joshua was a Godly leader, but they had sin in the camp – Achan – he took the booty (I love that word…booty) Joshua 7:1a – but the Israelites acted unfaithfully in regard to the devoted things, later in Joshua 7, Joshua pleads with God, and God’s response – vs. (Advance) 12c I will not be with you anymore unless you destroy whatever among you is devoted to destruction. Basically, God telling the people – you want to end up at destruction through sin – I’ll get you there faster and destroy you myself.
God is the same yesterday, today and forever – Right? How does the pouring out like fire and smashing rocks line up with the 6 pound baby Jesus in Matthew, Mark and Luke?
b. New Testament’s view of Wrath
Is actually not much different than the Old Testament. Hear me clearly – God created us, and he loves us – and he hates what separates us from him. Regardless if it’s murder, drunkenness, sexual sin, lying or apathy towards the church, and his family. He HATES what separates us from him. Church – He doesn’t hate you – he hates the sin in your life. Follow me on this --
i. We are all in God’s wrath – or at least we were
1. The choices we make
2. The ways we try to cut past his will
3. The excuses we come up with – Whatever prevents us from moving forward in our relationship with him.
The book of Ephesians paints a picture of everyone (Advance)
Ephesians 2:3 (NIV) All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath.
c. Unforgiven, unconfessed, unclaimed sin – will keep you in God’s wrath.
You related to something in that video this morning – that’s the identification part – what is keeping you from moving past that? God calls everything that moves us away from him – wickedness. You know, the lie you told last week – just a lie – God calls it WICKED. You know the harsh words you had for someone – they probably had it coming, after all you tell it like it is – God calls it WICKED. You know the unforgivness in your heart – it’s just unforgiveness, it comes in handy from time to time – God calls it WICKED. The Bible says that wickedness suppresses the truth – and God’s wrath is being revealed against it.
Listen church, the only way to move yourself from his wrath is to embrace the grace that he offers. We are moved from those who need salvation to those who are being saved – those who need redemption to those who are redeemed. We move from the wickedness that is easy to embrace from time to time – to God’s mercy and salvation here’s– the second part of Paul’s thought to the Ephesians(Advance)
Ephesians 2:4-5 (NIV) But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.
In our journey to the marvelous – we start out at God’s wrath. Paul says by nature we are objects of his wrath. The better place to be is in his Grace.
God offered his grace – at just the right time
A good definition of grace – “A beautiful gift from a beautiful heart, because the giver wants to give it regardless.”
d. God’s timing is always perfect --
i. He is able to meet our needs and our wants
God shows his love by doing for man, at the time of his need and in the sacrifice of Christ, what man could not do for himself.
ii. He is willing to teach us something through his timing & grace (Advance)
Titus 2:11-13 (NIV) – For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope—the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ,
iii. He is willing to keep his promises
Paul told the Romans that at the right time – God’s time – while we were still ungodly – he did something for us – Christ died for us. Jesus went to the cross. It wasn’t because of anything he did – we know that he was without sin – church, he went to the cross for you and for me. He went to the cross willingly because he knew the other option was wrath – he knew the other option was misery and aloneness. He knew the other option was that his creation would be dead in transgressions and sins – forever separated from him, guilty as charged.
e. We were unworthy
i. Of his grace – we can’t earn it.
ii. We can’t buy it on EBay
God alone has the ability to offer you his grace – and he did, absolutely free. Without cost to you but with absolute cost to him – it was expensive, but it was also tied to his love. Paul says that it’s rare that you would find someone to die for a righteous man – though for a good man someone possibly dare to die. (Advance)
1 john 4:10 (NIV) – This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.
Grace is greater than all of our sin – it doesn’t matter what you’ve done, where you’ve been, how you acted, what you embraced, what you denied or accepted – Grace is greater than all our sin. If you identify sin in your life this morning – ask God to move you towards his grace – Ask God to forgive your sin, repent which means doing the opposite of the current action – Peter told those who asked – Repentance and baptism in the name of Jesus for the forgiveness of sin, the conclusion was salvation and that hasn’t changed.
f. We embrace his grace over our lives
g. We accept and embrace his love – and we live a life of love
h. We do what our faith requires – and demonstrate the fruit of the spirit we possess – not so we can lean on our own holiness, but so that we can completely embrace his.
As we are willing to replace the misery, the wrath or the things that cause destruction in our lives – and fill ourselves with Jesus – prayer, hearing God’s word preached, reading his word, studying his word – corporate worship – as we replace wrath with grace – we grow and become more like Jesus. We move ourselves from (Advance)
II. Grace to Glory
We stand in his grace – we move towards his glory – our hope of salvation will be more than just hope – but fact.
a. Old Testament Glory
i. Belonged to God – it was the very presence of God (Advance)
Exodus 24:17 (NIV) To the Israelites the glory of the LORD looked like a consuming fire on top of the mountain.
ii. Belonged to God’s people – but it was also theirs to refuse (Advance)
Psalm 106:20 (NIV) They exchanged their Glory for an image of a bull, which eats grass. Instead of serving the creator they started worshiping the created.
I can’t wait for glory. I can’t wait for the eternity that will be mine to embrace, as I am in the presence of Jesus forever – longer than the 70 + years I’ll have here. I can’t wait until sickness becomes a thing of the past – sorrow and hopelessness are forgotten & tears are wiped away.
b. New Testament
i. It’s about heaven, salvation, and blessed hope, eternal life being with God forever, and embracing the marvelous.
It is a renewed focus on what you are reaching for that will stop the junk in your life from dragging you down. Give me someone who has no hope, someone who justifies their self-pity, someone who camps out in their immaturity and I will show you someone who has either lost focus of salvation or someone who never had it. Trading the temporary for the permanent has become accepted and even honored – but those who wait up on the lord shall renew their strength --
c. In view of what we have ahead
i. What do our frustrations in this world equal? – they are temporary
ii. What do our sorrows mean – they are temporary
iii. What does this body that breaks down and the sickness that can stop us in our tracks – church, those things are temporary
Church, this morning it is not in the temporary that we find our hope of redemption. It is not the meaninglessness of the troubles of this world that we find our satisfaction – God’s people (that’s us) we find hope in the things to come – the eternal salvation that will be ours to embrace. Jesus told his disciples that he was going to prepare a place for us – and if goes to prepare a place for us – he will come back so that we can be where he is.
d. Christ died –
i. The price was paid – the debt was covered – the responsibility taken care of.
ii. So that we could not only have life here – free of guilt and shame
1. But have life with him forever and ever.
Conclusion:
Grace is a beautiful gift, from a beautiful heart, because the giver wants to give it regardless of the response. We don’t deserve it. It’s amazing – it’s wonderful – it’s the only way we will reach the marvelous. Here’s the deal –we have to respond – not next week, not next year – now. What happens – God peels away who we are and we become who he wants us to be. I don’t want you to be anything less than what God has called you to be – the only thing that prevents God’s powerful presence in our lives is us – because we have to make choice – do I hold on to what I’ve always done, do I continue with the same hopeless life – or should I just simple grab the nail scared hand and let him lead? Here’s the promise – if you choose to grab his hand – he will see you in glory.
Let’s pray
