You Need Jesus
September 8, 2013 Morning Service
Immanuel Baptist Church, Wagoner, OK
Rick Boyne
Message Point: You need Jesus more than you think you do.
Focus Passage: Acts 16:25-34
Supplemental Passage: Jesus *said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me. (John 14:6 NASB)
Introduction: Dr. Andrew Bonar told me how, in the Highlands of Scotland, a sheep would often wander off into the rocks and get into places that they couldn't get out of. The grass on these mountains is very sweet and the sheep like it, and they will jump down ten or twelve feet, and then they can't jump back again, and the shepherd hears them bleating in distress. They may be there for days, until they have eaten all the grass. The shepherd will wait until they are so faint they cannot stand, and then they will put a rope around him, and he will go over and pull that sheep up out of the jaws of death. "Why don't they go down there when the sheep first gets there?" I asked. "Ah!" He said, "they are so very foolish they would dash right over the precipice and be killed if they did!" And that is the way with men; they won't go back to God till they have no friends and have lost everything. If you are a wanderer I tell you that the Good Shepherd will bring you back the moment you have given up trying to save yourself and are willing to let Him save you His own way. Moody's Anecdotes, pp. 70-71.
I. You need Jesus for Salvation
a. The jailor cried out, “What must I do to be saved?” The answer “Jesus”
b. Jesus is, in fact, the ONLY answer for salvation. It is “Jesus only” NOT “Jesus plus (whatever)”
c. We are not on different paths to the same god. Our God can only be found through Jesus.
II. You need Jesus for your family
a. When Paul answered the jailor he said, “you and your household”
b. Paul knew that if the jailor took the good news back to his family, they would believe it, too
c. We cannot be a proper husband, wife, parent, or even child without the help of Jesus
III. You need Jesus for your own life
a. The jailor was going to kill himself because he thought all the prisoners had escaped
b. Paul, Silas, and all the prisoners were still there because they, too, trusted Jesus
c. We, too, cannot function properly without Jesus in our lives
d. Without Jesus, there is only false hope for a false resolution or solution
Invitation:
In the 1970’s, Andre Crouch wrote “Jesus Is the Answer”. The lyrics are below.
Chorus:
Jesus is the answer, for the world today,
Above Him there's no other,
Jesus is the way.3x
Verse One:
If you have some questions
In the corners of your mind,
Traces of discouragement,
The peace you cannot find,
Reflections of your past,
Seem to face you everyday,
But this one thing I do know,
That Jesus is the way.
Chorus:
Jesus is the answer, for the world today,
Above Him there's no other,
Jesus is the way.3x
Verse Two:
I know you've got mountains,
That you think you cannot climb,
I know your skies are dark,
You think the sun won't shine,
But in case you don't know,
That the word of God is true,
Everything he's promised,
He will do it for you.
Chorus:
Jesus is the Answer, for the world today,
Above Him there's no other,
Jesus is the way.3x
Instrumental break
Bridge:
Jesus is the Way(The Truth and the Light)5x
