REVIVAL 2003: FREEDOM
FREE TO ACCEPT GOD’S GRACE
ACTS 2:14-41
EPHESIANS 2:1-10
JOHN 3:16-17
Tonight is the last night of our revival and we focus tonight on our first love. We focus tonight on the message of the Gospel. I want to communicate to you as clearly as I can what God offers when it comes to the Christian life. And it is an offer. It is a free offer of eternal life. It is a free offer to take the guilt of bad things away. I want to communicate the Gospel to you tonight in three different ways. By ‘Gospel, I simply mean the message about Jesus the Son of God. I want to first read you a sermon given by one of Jesus’ followers, second, I’ll explain the message of Jesus in my own words, and then third, we’ll use a simple Bible passage that sums up the Gospel completely. It sounds like a lot, but I promise not to take all night.
GOSPEL PRESENTATION 1: ACTS 2:14-41
READ ACTS 2:14-21 [comment while reading using the following outline and comments]
14-21 = Peter was one of the first followers of Jesus and he is getting the attention of the crowds. He mentions being drunk because all of the people were hearing the message in their own language and they came from many different countries! It was a miracle God gave to get the message out. God’s priority was that the people gathered there heard what Peter had to say and He made it happen… with a miracle of languages.
22-24 = Peter wants to speak to the people about Jesus and who He really was. The people gathered there had heard about the things Jesus was doing: healing the sick, healing those who were paralyzed, raising the dead, and teaching about God’s desire for our lives. The people knew Jesus as a good teacher and someone sent from God. Yet, Jesus was so much more than that.
25-31 = Jesus was not an afterthought of God. Jesus and what He would do for me and you was the plan of God from the beginning and the Bible talks about it and many of the people in the time before Jesus looked forward to His coming. David, mentioned in these verses, was one of them. He had a hope about the future. He saw ahead and saw the plan of God--- Jesus.
32-36 = Jesus was more than a good teacher or healer. Jesus was God in the flesh here on earth. Jesus was handed over to the authorities and killed. He had done nothing wrong, but willingly died for us. Peter is telling the people that Jesus not only died, but He rose from the dead and is alive! He tells them two very important facts:
Jesus is Lord à Jesus is the authority in the lives of the people who follow Him
Jesus is Christ à Jesus can save people from the sins and guilt that plague them
37-41 = One of the most important things this last part of this passage tells us is that a decision needs to be made. The people heard the message about Jesus from Peter and there was a decision to be made: ‘what shall we do?’ I want you to know that tonight you are being presented with the message about Jesus and you too have a decision.
GOSPEL PRESENTATION 2: EPHESIANS 2:1-10
READ EPHESIANS 2:1-10 = “As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions--it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-- not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”
I. THE WAY WE ARE
A. Emotionally, we are disobedient to God and His desires for us. We do our own thing and make decisions about our lives without consulting Him. Ephesians describes people who go with their feelings on what is right and wrong. Ephesians describes people who follow what other people, movies, TV, and things that are not of God—we call that ‘the world.’ Basically, we don’t follow God.
B. Spiritually, we are ‘dead in your transgressions and sins.’ What does that mean? It means that the spiritual part of us is not alive. When do something against God, contrary to His desires, it’s called sin and it breaks the relationship that we can have with God. All of us can have a spiritual relationship with God. It is possible, but sin interferes with that.
C. Physically, we gratify our bodies and many times do things that feel good and harm us. Ephesians tells us that before we accept God we many times our life is dictated by the desires of our body.
II. THE WAY GOD IS
First, I want to teach you and explain what God the Father is all about. I want you to know that you have a holy loving Heavenly Father. Ephesians tells us that God has great love for us and has mercy on us. God offers to us the opportunity to become part of His family… He will adopt us if we accept Him. This is all part of the grace that this passage talks about, we don’t really deserve to become part of God’s family, but He offers it anyway because we are His heart and He loves us. Christians are all part of one huge family and that family belongs to God. We can be adopted into His Family and enjoy the rewards that come with being part of God’s family. You and I can have very different lives than the one we have now.. all because of the love of God.
Second, I want to share all about Jesus the Son. Jesus came to earth for one purpose and one purpose only: ‘to seek and save the lost.’ What He meant by lost and what I mean by lost is those who have not yet found Him. The lost are going their own way and think very little about God’s desire for their life. Jesus came to provide the way for us to have a relationship with God. Jesus came to share God’s good, pleasing, and perfect will for our lives. It is not a live devoid of fun and adventure, but a life filled with no regrets, less guilt, and a hope in eternity that nothing else can match. I want to explain what having Jesus as Lord and Savior means. Jesus being Lord means He has first priority in our lives and we live according to His will and direction and thought. Jesus being Savior means we are free from guilt and sin and punishment and have instead peace, strength in temptation, and Heaven Forever with God.
Third, I want to share with you the work of the Holy Spirit. We who are Christians do not do it all alone. We have a helper. We have a guide. We have the Holy Spirit which is the Spirit of God that lives inside those who accept Him. We are not alone in this world. We do not live our life of faith by ourselves. We have a Constant Companion, a Counselor, and A Gift from God. The Holy Spirit will help you overcome whatever hurts you in your life.
III. THE WAY WE CAN BE
A. Alive with Christ- being alive with Christ means that you and I can have a relationship with Jesus. By relationship, I mean He has input into your life. He can give you strength, comfort, power, and forgiveness. There will be communication and blessing.
B. Free from sin- this does not mean that you will never mess up again or that you will never do anything bad. After you become a Christian, you will have the same struggles, but there will be no guilt. Jesus died on the cross to pay the sin-debt we owe. We can ask for forgiveness and He will give it. He frees us from being bound to our sin.
C. We have incomparable riches- Eternal Life with God in Heaven Forever. God promises that those who follow Him and accept Jesus as Lord and Savior have a place with Him for all eternity after this life. That hope that we have in Heaven drives us to do all the Christian things that we do. That hope that we have in Heaven can be compared to nothing here on Earth.
GOSPEL PRESENTATION 3: John 3:16-17
READ JOHN 3:16-17 = “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”
This passage tells us very simply all about the Gospel. It tells us three very important things:
1. God loves you.
2. God made a way for you to love Him.
3. Those who love God will have eternal life.
CONCLUSION & INVITATION
