WHAT THE WORLD NEEDS TO KNOW
Dorn Ridge & York Manor April 22, 2012
INTRODUCTION:
I. THE WORLD NEEDS TO KNOW THAT JESUS HAS DIED.
1.) When sin has been committed, the penalty of sin is always death.
A.) Romans 6:23
B.) For every member of the human race God’s judgment decree of physical and spiritual death is a just reward for the sins we have committed.
ba.) Physical and spiritual deaths are not only a just reward, but they are also fair wages in payment of our sins.
2.) Jesus died because of sin.
A.) For every other member of the human race There is absolutely nothing amiss in God giving either physical death, or a sentence of eternal death.
B.) But Jesus was not just any other human on this planet.
ba.) At the time when Jesus was put to death on the cross, he was the only member of the human race that had ever lived on this earth to whom God did not owe a sentence of physical death.
bb.) Further, Jesus was also the only member of the human race to whom God did not owe a payment of spiritual and eternal death.
C.) The reason God did not owe a debt of death to Jesus is that he was the only member of the human race who had never once committed even the smallest, or most insignificant of sins.
3.) Jesus chose to die as a substitute for my sin.
A.) We were helpless in our sins before God.
B.) On our own merits our only standing before God was for judgment and condemnation.
ba.) It was at that very point when we were so helpless and condemned that Jesus chose to take our judgment, and to give the world the blessedness that He alone had before God.
C.) Jesus did for us what was unthinkable.
ca.) Rom. 5: 6-8
cb.) As Paul so accurately points out, if any of us had been good and righteous it might possibly have been conceivable for someone to be so gracious.
cc.) But to be honest that is not who any of us were.
cca.) By our standards none of us would see each other as that sinful, wicked, and vile.
ccb.) But to God who is 100% pure, holy, even one small sin is a major thing.
ccc.) To see the difference on perspective of sin between us and God, I would like to give you an illustration.
ccc-1.) When I am working at the recycling, I am not very clean. Many of the things that come in are covered in dust and dirt. Some have even been sitting in mud. Then as I cut and grind various metals the dust and residue from those things shoot out at me.
ccc-1i.) There are times that if you threw a cup of soot from the chimney you would not even notice the extra dirt.
ccc-1ii.) That is not a nice picture, but it is a realistic one of the view we would have of sin. Unless something is so terrible that it shocks us, many times sin is unnoticed because of being sinful beings.
ccc-2.) Now I want to show you another image. This time the scene is not me in my work clothes, but of a bride in a beautiful white satin gown.
ccc-2iii.) That cup of soot on me would not have been noticeable. but on this wedding dress don`t take the full cup, but just half a teaspoon of soot and put it on the dress. Will you notice it? You bet you will, and you will not only notice it, but it will be a major thing.
ccc-2iv.) You see the difference in the perspective of the terribleness of sin depends on if we are with sin, or pure and apart from it.
cd.) When we can have this perspective of what Jesus was willing to do for us, we can see how unthinkable it was for Him to take our place on the cross, and yet that is what He did.
II. THE WORLD NEEDS TO KNOW THAT JESUS AROSE FROM THE DEAD.
As much as was accomplished by the death of Jesus on the cross that was not the end of the story.
-- I Cor. 15:3
1.) Jesus had to be resurrected from the dead.
A.) Scripture had prophesied He would.
aa.) Psalms 16:10
ab.) Hosea 6:1-3
B.) Jesus himself had prophesied he would rise from the dead.
ba.) Matt. 17:20-23
2.) The world needs to know that Jesus was raised from the dead because it is the proof that He is the Son of God.
A.) Rom. 1:1-4
B.) Apart from the resurrection everything else of Jesus could be true, and of value to us, but if there were no resurrection, we would not know that truth for sure.
ba.) Likewise, the resurrection of Christ is what gives us the assurance that we too will one day arise from the graves we will go to if Christ does not return before then.
III. THE WORLD NEEDS TO KNOW THAT JESUS IS COMING AGAIN.
1.) The first coming of Christ was merely to prepare and put into action God’s plan of redemption.
A.) Jesus came to this world as God in the flesh.
aa.) In the person of Jesus, God was able to approach man and do what man could not do for himself.
ab.) By coming to this world as God in the flesh Jesus was able to approach man in a manner that was different than what God could do in His glorified Heavenly state.
aba.) God should a small bit of His glorified state at Mt. Sinai.
abb.) Man was terrified, and realized he could not stand in the presence of God.
abc.) The people asked that Moses would be a go-between between them and God.
B.) Jesus came the first time not for judgment, but for salvation.
ba.) John 3:17-18
2.) When Jesus comes back the second time there will be no further time to prepare for His coming.
A.) Jesus will not be returning as a little babe, or as one put to death on a cross.
B.) When Jesus returns, He will be returning as the Sovereign King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
C.) Several things will happen almost simultaneously:
ca.) The trumpet of the Lord Shall sound.
cb.) The resurrection will occur.
cc.) The whole world will stand before the Judgment seat of God, and His Christ.
cd.) The time that God has given to man to make a choice for God will be past.
ce.) There will be no more opportunity for salvation -- All mankind will stand before God as either the Redeemed of the Lord, or as the hopeless and the condemned of eternity.
3.) Now is the time to prepare for the second coming of Christ A.) We do not have an unlimited time to prepare for eternity.
B.) The life span of every one of us will one day end on this earth.
ba.) None of us know when that day will be.
bb.) But we can be assure that a day has been determined by God
bba.) Heb. 9:27
bc.) The time until death is not the only reason to prepare now for eternity.
C.) None of us know when the second coming of Christ will be, which will bring the Judgment, and eternity.
ca.) Matt. 24:36
D.) What that means is that we do not have the option of waiting until tomorrow, because we do not have the assurance of tomorrow or even tonight.
da.) 2 Cor. 6:2
