For the past couple of months we’ve been preaching our own version of the “Biggest Loser. Unlike the popular TV show, the losers we’ve dealt with 8 different Bible characters who made poor decisions and lost BIG.
But today we’re looking at the biggest losers in Scripture who ever became winners.
One of most popular TV shows on NBC for the past few years has been “The Biggest Loser”.
Does anybody know how many seasons this show lasted? (Eleven)
It’s an extremely popular show.
In fact it is SO popular that several other nations have developed their own version of show.
There’s an Asian remake.
There’s one broadcast on Arabian networks.
Then there are other ones in Australia, India, South Africa, Israel, Germany, and several other nations.
During the season Contestants often lose between 100 and 200 lbs. One man even lost 264 pounds.
But whether they win the contest or not, many have found-losing all this weight makes them winners.
· One woman has started a singing career and fallen in love.
· Another woman – on this year’s series - has lost enough that she is looking forward to getting pregnant.
· Several have started their own workout programs.
· The oldest man who has taken part in show was able to stop taking the 5 medicines he’d been on.
One woman said of her experience:
"I feel stronger… more self-confident… like I’m worth it now. I’ve changed inside and out."
There was something about what that show did for these people that changed their lives.
Like I said before, for the past couple of months we’ve been preaching our own version of the “Biggest Loser. We’ve dealt with 8 different Bible characters who made poor decisions and lost BIG. But today we’re looking at the biggest losers in Scripture who ever became winners.
Our scene today takes place on the day of Pentecost.
Pentecost was one of the very special holy days the Jews observed, and it took place 50 days after the feast of the Passover where Jesus had been betrayed, put on trial… and led away to die on Calvary.
Between the feast of the Passover and this festival of Pentecost…
· Jesus has risen from the dead
· He’s met and talked with many of His followers
· and He ascended into heaven and has sat down at the right hand of the Father.
But before Jesus had gone up into Heaven, He’d told His disciples to go to Jerusalem and to wait for the gift of the Holy Spirit that God had promised them.
And when that gift came, it came with the sound of a violent wind and something that appeared as if it were tongues of fire came down and rested on the heads of the 12 apostles and they began to speak in languages they’d never learned.
Now this got the attention of just about everybody in the Temple area and soon a large crowd had gathered together to see what this strange thing was happening. Seizing that opportunity, Peter got up and began to address the crowd and he started telling them all about who Jesus had been.
Peter said they had all seen/ the many miracles and signs and wonders Jesus had done.
· He’d healed the lame, the sick and the demon possessed.
· He’d fed thousands with just a small handful of food.
· He’d raised a young girl from her death bed… and Lazarus from the tomb after he had been buried for 4 days!
And they’d ALL seen this.
And even if they HADN’T all they had to do was ask around and they’d find someone who had.
After all these powerful things He had done…
After He had been so kind and helpful to the people of that land…
After He had given them everything He had to give…
They’d crucified Him!
He’d died.
But He didn’t stay dead.
The evil this crowd had taken part in had all been prophesied by God 100s of years before.
Peter told them: “This man was handed over to you by God’s set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him.” Acts 2:23-24
It’s possible that many of those in the audience had been part of the mob that had demanded Christ’s death. It’s likely it was they who had cried out “Crucify Him… Crucify Him”
They may not have ACTUALLY put the nails into Jesus’ hands… but they may as well have. Because, with the help of wicked men, they had put Him to death. They’d been whipped into hysteria by the Chief Priests and Pharisees who had convinced them that Jesus needed to die.
But that had been almost 2 months ago.
In the past few days they’d heard people talk about the fact that Jesus had risen from the dead. Many of them had probably even talked with those who’d seen Him after His resurrection.
As Paul wrote:
“…I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve.
After that, HE APPEARED TO MORE THAN FIVE HUNDRED of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep.” I Corinthians 15:3-6
What Paul was saying was this:
Over 500 people saw Jesus after He rose from the dead. If you doubt ME – go talk to them!!
And many in THIS crowd KNEW some of those people.
On top of that… Peter went on to prove from Scripture that Jesus was the promised Messiah.
· For centuries the Jews had waited for this messenger from God
· For centuries they’d looked for this man who would become their prophet/priest/King
· For centuries they had hoped for a leader who would establish a new & powerful kingdom.
And when God sent Him… they’d crucified Him
Jesus had been that Messiah!
He’d proved it by His miracles, signs and wonders.
He’d proved it by fulfilling over 300 prophecies about Him from the Old Testament.
And He’d proved it by rising from the dead.
AND THEY’D KILLED HIM!
This is a constant theme in Peter’s preaching
Here in Acts 2 he tells the crowd:
“YOU, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross”
Later, in Acts 4, Peter and John heal a crippled man at the temple… and that draws a crowd.
And Peter tells those people: “… know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom YOU crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed.” Ac 4:10
Again, Peter and John stood before the Sanhedrin (ruling body of Jews) and they’re not happy. They say to the Apostles:
"We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name… Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to make US guilty of this man’s blood."
Peter and the other apostles replied: "We must obey God rather than men! The God of our fathers raised Jesus from the dead— whom YOU had killed by hanging him on a tree.” Acts 5:28-30
Peter’s preaching is like a drum beat:
· YOU crucified Christ
· YOU killed the Messiah
· YOU are guilty before God.
Now why would Peter preach like this?
Why make people feel guilty.
Why make them feel bad about things they’ve done.
Why not preach a “feel good” sermon that dwells on “the power of positive thinking”.
Why not tell people “I’m OK, and You’re OK… so it’s OK!”
Why not?
Well, because it’s not true.
If I’m OK and You’re OK… explain the cross.
Scripture says that Jesus came to die for our sins. But if there’s another way to be acceptable to God without Jesus dying for us… why would He have to die to begin with?
That’s why John wrote: If we claim we have not sinned, we make (Jesus) out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives. 1 John 1:10
If you didn’t sin, Jesus didn’t die for you.
Because Jesus died for SINNERS!
And if you haven’t sinned, you’re telling Jesus’ His sacrifice means nothing to you.
You’re ok without Him.
ILLUS: I once talked to a young man about becoming a Christian. He expressed the fact that he truly desired to belong to Jesus. And so I asked him a couple of the basic questions I ask all converts:
1) “Do you believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God?”
And he said “Yes.”
2) Then I asked “Do you believe that you are a sinner?”
He paused and then replied “Well, I’m not really all that bad a person.”
“Well then,” I replied “you can’t be saved. Because Jesus only saves sinners.”
He quickly did some rethinking and then admitted – yes he had sinned.
But you know that how most of us are.
We sin… but we’re really not all THAT bad.
We’re OK sinners.
But we don’t really sin all that much. And if it came right down to it, we could probably sneak on into heaven on our good deeds.
But in order to become a Christian you have to accept the fact that you’ve sinned.
You have to accept the idea that you can’t get into heaven on your own merits.
If you can’t do that, you can’t belong to Jesus.
In order to be saved you have realize that you can’t get into heaven by your own self-righteousness. You can’t be good enough (on your own) to be good enough to get into heaven.
And that’s because ALL of us have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.
Robert Lewis Stevenson (a fairly “nice man” of his day) acknowledged:
“Each of us has THOUGHTS that would shame hell.”
Even in our thoughts we fall short of the glory of God.
I dare say that if you knew I could read your mind and delve into the very depths of your thoughts… many of you wouldn’t come within a mile of me. Why? Because we ALL have thoughts we’d be ashamed of. And unless we recognize that, we’re not going to heaven.
It’s like those folks that take part in the TV show “The Biggest Loser”.
What do they have to admit if they want to be on that show?
They have to admit they have a problem, or that show can’t help them.
Unless they feel the desire to change…they’re always be overweight and without hope.
In the same way, unless we recognize the weight of sin in our lives.
Unless we feel the desire to get rid of that sin and change our lives we’re always going to be dominated by sin and without hope.
That’s why the Gospel tells us we need to repent of our sins.
Paul told a crowd in Athens: “… (God) commands all people everywhere to repent.” Ac 17:30
Acts 3:19 Declares: “Repent... and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord”
And Peter told the crowd at Pentecost the thing they needed to do to be forgiven of their sins was
"Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” Acts 2:38
In order for Jesus to make any lasting change in our lives we need to REPENT. That’s the only way for us to lift the weight of sin from our lives and experience times of refreshing that comes from the Lord. That’s why Peter repeatedly confronted the crowds with the reality that they had crucified Jesus.
Now you might ask – Jeff why are you preaching this sermon on Easter???
(wait until some asks the question)
I’m glad you asked that question.
You’d think that on Easter I would preach a sermon about Jesus rising from dead. I mean – here I am preaching a sermon about the day of Pentecost - an event that took place 50 days after the resurrection.
Granted – Pentecost an important day in church history.
On Pentecost Peter preached a powerful sermon that brought 3000 people to their knees and they repented and were baptized into Christ for the forgiveness of their sins. On Pentecost 3000 lives were changed. On Pentecost 3000 people had their sins lifted from their hearts/minds.
BUT here’s why I’m preaching this sermon on Easter:
If it hadn’t been for Easter…
· if Jesus hadn’t died on the cross
· if He hadn’t been buried in that tomb
· and if He hadn’t risen from the grave
There would have been no Pentecost!
If it hadn’t been for Easter, Peter wouldn’t have had good news to preach to crowd.
If it hadn’t been for Easter, those 3000 people would have died in their sins - without hope… and without forgiveness.
You see, Easter isn’t just about a Historical Event.
This isn’t a piece of COLD theology we’re discuss on Sunday mornings.
The resurrection of Jesus from the dead is a life-changing power for those who lay hold of it.
But if Jesus didn’t rise from the dead, there is no hope of real change in our lives:
Paul wrote: “…if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.
And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.” 1 Corinthians 15:14 & 17
In fact he says… If there’s no resurrection from the dead
"Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die." I Corinthians 15:32
Years ago there was a beer commercial once said
“You only go around once in life so grab all the gusto you can.”
What were they saying?
They’re saying enjoy all you can in this life…because one day you’re going to die.
One day they’re going to put you into the grave, and there is no hope after that.
One day you’re going to die… and you can just kiss it all goodbye.
Or as Paul wrote:
“If in this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.” 1 Corinthians 15:19 KJV
But – in fact – Jesus has risen from the dead!!
And because of that truth, you and I have HOPE in this life
You and I have the promise of forgiveness of our sins
You and I have the assurance that God will fix what is broken in our lives.
Now, I want to notice one more thing in our text this morning.
It says in Acts 2:37 that when the people heard Peter’s sermon and realized they had crucified Christ “… they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, ‘Brothers, what shall we do?’”
They were “Cut to the heart”.
They were filled with grief and pain because NOW they knew it was their sin that put Jesus on the cross.
CLOSE: I recently talked with a preacher who remembered the 1st time he’d been “cut to the heart”. He’d actually become a Christian when he was a young teenager but one Sunday he was sitting in church and saw a picture of Jesus on the cross and it suddenly occurred to him that it was HIS sin that had put Jesus there.
He said he’d never thought about it that was before.
He’d never considered HIS own guilt.
Up until that point, Jesus dying for his sins was just a “church thing” but suddenly it all became personal. Suddenly he realized: It was for him that Jesus had died.
His chin began to quiver and tears filled his eyes… he was literally cut to the heart.
And that was the day that he realized how much Jesus loved him.
That was the day his life changed forever.
You see, it’s not really enough for us believe Jesus is the Son of God.
It’s not enough for us to believe He died on the cross.
It’s not enough for us to believe He was buried and rose from the grave on the 3rd day.
Unless it gets personal that’s all window dressing.
Unless we believe Jesus did it ME/ for YOU… it’s just cold theology.
But once it becomes personal… our lives can change forever.
The question for you this morning is this: is it personal to you?
Do you realize it was your sin that put Jesus on the Cross of Calvary?
Do you really know that it was for YOU that Jesus died?
Have you come to the point where you ask “Men and brethren what shall I do?”
If so, what you need to do this morning is “Repent and be baptized for the forgiveness of your sins.”
(Invitation)
