“But God”
October 1, 2018
1st night of tent revival
Welcome
Pray
Genesis 1:1
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth
Right here in chapter 1 of the bible
The first page
The first words
We see the proof of the existence of God
In the Beginning
God
God created the heavens and the earth and everything in it
Not a higher power
Not a cosmic big bang
Not any of the so-called theories of evolution
God
Jehovah
Created
Made something from nothing
He spoke, and it was
And in his creation
In his pleasure
He created man
He did not need to do it
He was not lonely
He was and is and always will be complete
Father, Son and Holy Spirit
Three in one
In perfect unity
But God
Perfect in love
Created man
In order to have someone to show his love to
And in the beginning
God’s perfect love created a perfect paradise
Adam and Eve
Were in perfect fellowship with God
They had the one on one daily interaction with God that he desired
And all was Good
Then
You all know the story
Old slick, Satan the serpent
Came and tempted man—
He lied and manipulated God’s word
He claimed that Adam and Eve could become Gods their selves
If they simply disobeyed his commands
Don’t eat the fruit from the tree of Knowledge God said or you will die
We know that was spiritual not physical death
We also know that physical death which was unknown also became a reality
But Satan said surely you won’t die
And so, they ate
And Sin entered the world
The once perfect garden became a place of toil and hard labor
Pain and suffering became a reality
And shame entered the world
And sin became a part of all humanity
Adam and Eve had been created with no sin
Butt their acceptance of sin
Plunged all of humanity into sin
We by our very nature are born sinners
It is a part of us
And left unchecked it separates us from the God who created us
The rest of the Old Testament
Is the story of God’s people
Sinning
Repenting
Making sacrifices
And then starting again
Trying to restore what they had in the garden but never able to get there
You see Sin had control
In was in Man’s nature to sin
And in mans sinful state, their relationship with God was obviously flawed
That Brings us to the New Testament and the Book of John
And God’s plan to revival
To reconciliation
To restoration
To Re- Affirmation
John 1:1-5
In the beginning the Word already existed.
The Word was with God,
and the Word was God.
2 He existed in the beginning with God.
3 God created everything through him,
and nothing was created except through him.
4 The Word gave life to everything that was created,[a]
and his life brought light to everyone.
5 The light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness can never extinguish it
John 1 tells us that nothing that happen was a surprise to God
That he knew we would not be able to avoid our sin nature
And he knew from the beginning
That a way of redemption would be need
His Name Is Jesus Christ
The second person of the trinity
The redeemer
Our Lord and Savior
We know the stories and details of his life
His death
His burial
His resurrection
We know if we have read scripture that he will one day return for his children
But
Tonight, it is my desire to show you the path not the destination
We are going to skip forward to the book of Ephesians
The Apostle Paul
Wrote this great letter to the church at Ephesus to assure them of God’s plan
And his mercy
Ephesians 1: 1-10
This letter is from Paul, chosen by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus.
I am writing to God’s holy people in Ephesus,[a] who are faithful followers of Christ Jesus.
2 May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.
3 All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ. 4 Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. 5 God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. 6 So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son.[b] 7 He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins. 8 He has showered his kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding.
9 God has now revealed to us his mysterious will regarding Christ—which is to fulfill his own good plan. 10 And this is the plan: At the right time he will bring everything together under the authority of Christ—everything in heaven and on earth.
I want you to notice something here in Ephesians
Paul is writing about God
Not us
He writes of God’s blessings
God’s choice to save us
He did not need to save us
He wanted to save us out of his love
For his glory
You see we glorify God just by becoming his Sons and daughters
He redeemed us
Through his love
Because of his mercy
For his pleasure
Out of his kindness
And gives us freedom
By his sacrifice
Through his wisdom
And gives us an eternal inheritance
To boot
You see
Everything to do with our salvation
Is a gift from God himself?
He saves us because he loves us
And he gives us what we need to accept his gift of Grace
Let’s skip to Ephesians 2
And prayerfully
I will open your eyes to a fact that is so humbling to me
And when realized will change our whole outlook on life
Our entire perspective of God
And who we are in God
Ephesians 2:1-3
Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins. 2 You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil—the commander of the powers in the unseen world.[a] He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God. 3 All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature we were subject to God’s anger, just like everyone else.
Once you were dead
Once I was dead
We were all born spiritually dead
Adams sin put in us a sin nature
And in of ourselves
We have no choice but to live in that sin nature
We were subject to the temptations of Satan
Subject to our own desires
Subject to the pull of this wicked world
Our own selfish wants
Separated from God
By our sin
And then we come to verse 4a
The most beautiful words in scripture
Verse 4
“But God “
We were lost
“But God”
We were controlled by our sins
“But God”
Go back to Ephesians 2 with me
Verse 4-7
But God, is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, 5 that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!) 6 For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus. 7 So God can point to us in all future ages as examples of the incredible wealth of his grace and kindness toward us, as shown in all he has done for us who are united with Christ Jesus.
8 God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. 9 Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. 10 For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.
But God
Listen to me
We were separated form God for eternity by our Sins- But God
We were dead from birth in our sins- But God
We were enemies of God, living under his wrath- But God
We followed our own selfish desires, the ideas of the world, the lies of Satan- But God
We were slaves to sin- But God
But God in his mercy
But God in his love
But God in his wisdom
But God in his kindness
But God for his glory for his pleasure
Gave us a way out
He from before the creation of the World
Made a way for us
And that way is Jesus
Look at John 1:12 with me
But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God.
God
Once again because of his mercy for his glory
Sent his Son to pay the penalty of our sin
He sent Jesus to redeem us
To restore us
To reconcile us
To revive us
And even made it simple
He says
All who believe and accept him will become my Children
Restored into right fellowship with God the Father
Restore into the relationship between man and God
That existed before the fall
Before the forbidden fruit
Before sin entered the world
He sent Jesus
So that all who believe and accept him
Will be forgiven
Will be saved
And will in the very acceptance of his gift
Bring glory to God
And he lets us make a choice
We can choose life or death
Salvation or damnation
Reconciliation or continued separation
We can choose obedience or rebellion
We can choose to become sons and daughters or we can continue being slaves to sin and to Satan
What he is offering is freedom
Freedom from bondage
Freedom from guilt and shame
Freedom from the darkness
Freedom from Death
Jesus Christ died for us
In spite of us
While we were still sinners
To buy us back from our sin and ourselves
And we have the freedom to choose
Just as Adam and Eve had a choice so do we
We were sinners
Lost in our sin
“But God”
Life is all about decisions
We all need to make one
The first is called salvation
Will you accept the sacrifice that has been given for you?
Will you choose eternal life?
Will you come
Maybe you need to make a decision to make you salvation public in the next step of Baptism
Will you come
Maybe you need to turn from some sin
Confess some sin
Forgive someone
Make a commitment to walk in the light of your salvation
Instead of the darkness of your sin
There are men and women available this evening to talk to you
Play song
Close from the heart
Pray
