A TIME TO BE RESCUED.
LK 2:11
8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” 13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, 14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”
I found a story of about a father who took his daughter with him to a local store. Just as the father was getting out of the car, he met a friend. The two men started talking. The daughter was left in the car seat. After a few minutes the daughter became impatient. She struggled to get out of the car seat. She wanted to be out. Eventually she put her head out of the window and said, “Please God, get me out of here.” Can you relate? This little child had been struggling with her car seat and realized that she couldn’t escape. She was in fact crying out for a Savior. Maybe you are much like her. Maybe you have been strapped by the weight of debt. You have struggled with this problem it seems for a lifetime. Maybe you feel the tightening of life’s grip. You have been bound by a problem and there seems to be no escape. Maybe you know your purpose but for some unforeseen reason you keep hitting your head on the ceiling. You feel as if you will never be able to achieve your full potential. If this is you, then you are in the best place! God has a word for you.
READ AND PRAY
RESCUED FROM OUR SIN
Sin is a word that we pretend to understand but don’t. Let me give you an
example. THERMODYNAMICS. Most likely you could tell someone something about Thermodynamics. But can you really get into the details and explain it?
The first law of thermodynamics mandates conservation of energy and states in particular that the flow of heat is a form of energy transfer.
The second law of thermodynamics states that the entropy of an isolated macroscopic system never decreases, or, equivalently, that perpetual motion machines are impossible.
The third law of thermodynamics concerns the entropy of a perfect crystal at absolute zero temperature, and implies that it is impossible to cool a system to exactly absolute zero.
Sin is much like that. We recognize that we have issues or problems. We can relate to the girl. We not only recognize the issue but also realize that we cannot escape! However, we do not recognize the immense debt that sin causes. We know that we lie, but we call them “white lies” to rationalize them. We know that we lust, but we work ourselves through this rationalizing process of, “I really do need a tenth pair of those black 3 inch heal stilettos. We abhor sex outside of marriage, but we tolerate it on TV.
Many Christians will never get clarity about their situations because there is unaddressed sin in their lives. Sin, like rotten garbage, repulses God and sends Him the other way. God will not skip sin to give a blessing. He won’t just ignore it and decide not to worry about it. Why? Even though He loves His children, He can’t compromise His character. He can’t stop being God just to make you feel better. People with allergies struggle with breathing because the air is contaminated with dust and pollen. In order for life to get better, the air that person breathes must get clean. In order for God to clarify His way, the way, the air must get holier!
We know that sin is wrong. We just don’t recognize how wrong it really is! Therefore we justify it in our lives; we tolerate it in our homes; we listen to it on our ipods; we talk about it on face book; while all the time, unbeknownst to us, we walk farther and farther away from God!
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, WE HAVE A SIN PROBLEM AND WE NEED A SAVIOR! WE NEED TO BE RESCUED!
RESCUED FROM OURSELVES
Let me be blunt. You are the single source of most of your problems. Tell your neighbor, “Your problem is you!”
Let me prove it to you. When other people cause you problems, how do you handle them? Is your first reaction one that will make the situation better or worse? If we are honest, we trip ourselves up! We have habits that we can’t break; thoughts that we don’t want; emotions that we don’t like; insecurities and fears that we can’t hide; regrets and resentments that we can’t let go of; and we always say things that we regret! We are our own worst enemy.
Here is the truth, “8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.” 1 Jn 1:8-10
What is even crazier is this sin that we do is habit forming. The more we do it the easier it gets. We still feel guilty afterwards, but it doesn’t stop us from committing the crime. We can relate to Paul when he said, 15 I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. Rom. 7:15.
When a person becomes a believer, their flesh still has propensity toward sin. It’s like a house having termites in the wall. There structure of the house is contaminated by an invasive element that is doing damage. Now, some people’s contamination is obvious. Holes in the walls, and chewing on the wood are visible. It has become obvious that these folks are inhabited by something. In other people, the contamination by sin is not visible. These people have money to hide it and to do paint jobs. Either way, the sin is there and the building is defected! God has condemned the flesh, the building, because it has been contaminated by sin. God isn’t going to try to fix you! He is going to raise you up a brand new body because this one cannot be restored!
I must have naïve written on my forehead. People come in all the time asking for stuff. We try our best to meet their needs. Inevitably they bring up Christ. I pray all the time. I study all of the time. I go to church all of the time. Do you hear the common misconception? Can we earn heaven? The most difficult thing to do is to get ourselves out of the way! We need a rescuer; savior; messiah to save us from ourselves!!
RESCUED FOR A STRATEGY
There is a RESCUER. There is a SAVIOR. There is a MESSIAH. His name is Jesus. He is the Christ! Romans 6:23 reminds us that the payment of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus. 3 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Rom. 6:23.
God sent Jesus to save us from our sin problem and our self-problem. We were like that little girl in her car seat. And one day we screamed out, “God please save me.” And He did. God always does His part. We often forget ours! Here is what I mean.
God has given us His word, In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. Jn 1:1 It is this word that has life! It is this word that leads us to eternal life. When we do His word we indicate with our actions what we believe! 14 You are My friends if you do whatever I command you. Jn 15:14
But in America IT IS ALWAYS about me! Only in America is Christianity about what God can do for me. We have lost focus on what Christianity is intended to be. God sent us His son to save us from going to a Christless place called Hell. But He also saved us so that we could DO His will. 20 I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. Gal. 2:20.
When Jesus met the rich young ruler, Jesus said, “You still lack one thing. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” It is my fear that we fit more in the rich young ruler’s role than as a Christian. Christ has called us to a task; to give something away; to serve in a capacity; and to be the person God made us to be.
Do you realize that everything that God created obeys Him? The wind obeys God; the waves obey Him; the rain (it rains on the just and unjust); the animals; everything except God’s most prized creation- MAN. We believe we have options.
God’s plans are perfect. God’s plans are best! For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jer. 29:11
Everybody has in their homes manufactured products. Appliances such as toasters, microwaves, refrigerators, ovens, and can openers are found in their homes. Each of these has a different workmanship. They have different parts that make them unique and to operate appropriately. Now if the appliance operates outside of its reason for being then we have a problem. Can you imagine sticking things in the oven to freeze, or in the refrigerator to cook? You will have a difficult situation in the home because that is NOT what they were created to do. The toaster does not tell the creator what it is going to do today. The owner tells the appliance what it will do. That is what it was created for. IN the same way, we are God’s creation. He will dictate to us and inform us why we exist and what we are to do. Hi gives us our purpose. When we operate outside of our reason for being then logically we have problems.
Tell your neighbor, “God saved you… Now do what He saved you to do!”
God's plans are perfect. God's plans are best. Do you believe this? Then why are we not fulfilling His personal calling in our lives?
RESCUED BYA SAVIOR
Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord
Two men were climbing a mountain. They had two guides, one in the front and the other in the back. There were all tied together by the same rope. As they were climbing up the mountain, the guide in the back slipped and fell. When he fell, he rolled off the edge of the mountain and yanked the two men in the middle. The guide in the front took his axe and dug it into the ice deeper. He gripped and held on. The two men in the middle were able to climb back up on the rope because the guide in the front had dug in the and not let go. Even the guide in the back was able to climb to safety because of the front guide. IN the Garden of Eden, the first Adam slipped and fell. We are hooked with him by nature. So when Adam died, we all died. We all slipped and fell, hanging over the edge, and headed toward an eternal abyss. But there was somebody else on that rope. He was born of a virgin, a man like you and me. He was born a perfect baby. He lived a perfect life. He did everything according to the will of God. He dug in, and then He died on a cross and rose from the grave. Because He dug in, all of us who have fallen with the first Adam can climb back up out of the Abyss!
We are sinners saved by grace. We still have issues. But when we recognize our sins, and ask forgiveness we have a Savior; who is the Messiah; who is the Lord!
Someone once asked, “What can I do to get to heaven?” The answer, “your too late. You cannot do anything to get into heaven. It was done for you over 2,000 years ago.” We cannot earn heaven! It is a gift from God. If you enter my house without me inviting you then you have broken the law. You have trespassed. You cannot enter the gates of Heaven without the invitation from the Heavenly Father. And that invitation is Jesus Christ!
Jesus was born to save you. He was born the Messiah. He was born the Lord. But is He yours?
8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. Eph. 2:8-9
Do you see the need to be rescued today? We can’t have Christmas without Christ. Are you trying to live your life without Christ? He willingly laid down His life so that you could have yours. Are you willing to lay yours down?
Maybe today you need to be saved from yourself; your habits; or your lifestyle.
Maybe today you need to find purpose. Why am I here? What is my significant reason for living? You can discover it today.
