The Crucial Issue

THE CRUCIAL ISSUE

Romans 10:9

S: Resurrection Day

Th: Salvation

Pr: WE NEED ETERNAL HELP.

?: How? How does it come?

KW: Essentials

TS: We will find in our study of Romans 10:9 three essentials that when followed will get us the eternal help we need.

INDUCTIVE

The first essential is…

I. CONVICTION

II. CONTENT

III. COMMITMENT

RMBC 31 March 02 AM

INTRODUCTION:

ILL Notebook: Help (Housewife)

A worried mom sprang to the telephone when it rang and listened with relief to the kindly voice in her ear. "How are you, darling?" it said. "What kind of a day are you having?"

"Oh, mother," said the housewife, breaking into bitter tears, "I’ve had such a bad day. The baby won’t eat and the washing machine broke down. I haven’t had a chance to go shopping, and besides, I’ve just sprained my ankle and I have to hobble around. On top of that, the house is a mess and I’m supposed to have two couples to dinner tonight."

The mother was shocked and was at once all sympathy. "Oh, darling," she said, "sit down, relax, and close your eyes. I’ll be over in half an hour. I’ll do your shopping, clean up the house, and cook your dinner for you. I’ll feed the baby and I’ll call a repairman I know who’ll be at your house to fix the washing machine promptly. Now stop crying. I’ll do everything. In fact, I’ll even call George at the office and tell him he ought to come home and help out for once."

"George?" said the housewife. "Who’s George?"

"Why, George! Your husband! Is this 555-1374?

"No, this is 555-1375."

"Oh, I’m sorry. I guess I have the wrong number."

There was a short pause and the housewife said, "Does this mean you’re not coming over?"

Have you ever needed help?

I think that we all probably need help from time to time.

ILL Personal: Knee Surgery

Almost twenty years ago, I twisted both of my knees on separate occasions. At the time, I didn’t think much about them. I figured I had sprained them and that if I stayed away from strenuous activity for a little while, like playing basketball, they would be OK. And that worked for awhile. I continued to enjoy the sports activities that I loved, but I babied my knees, wore knee braces, and iced them down after a lot of activity. But you know what, about fifteen years ago, all my efforts were not working, for even walking became painful. It was extremely painful to go up and down stairs. It was extremely painful to get up out of a chair. So I gave in. I went to see a doctor, a specialist. And do you know what he told me? He said I had great knees...for an 85-year-old man. And they were not going to get better on their own. And they were not going to get better on my efforts. I needed outside help. I would need an operation on both knees to take the pain away.

Have you ever needed help?

CONTEXT:

As I was studying for this time today, I wondered what it would have been like for the disciples the day after Jesus was crucified.

They must have been scared.

What were they going to do?

They needed help!

For consider this…

1. A week that began with expectation ended in terror.

The Sunday before, Jesus came into Jerusalem on the foal of a donkey.

And the Jewish population understood the biblical sign of this.

It meant He was the Messiah.

They saw it as the long-awaited rescue from Roman occupation.

But in one week, that specific hope was dashed.

And Jerusalem was filled with a somber tone.

Because according to the religious leaders…

2. For the sake of the nation, there had to be an execution.

They had been angry with Jesus for a longtime, for He had shaken their power base.

The nation could not afford a rebellion, not religiously, nor politically.

Rome was too strong.

So they determined, one way or another, Jesus was too much of a threat and He was going to die.

Caiaphas, the high priest, said that it was better for one man to die for the people than the whole nation should perish.

What is interesting, is that though the leaders plotted to kill Him, it had been planned long before.

The whole time Jesus was here, He was purposefully heading to the cross.

So…

3. Enduring the pain and shame of the cross, Jesus sacrificed Himself for mankind.

Rejected by His own people, He was tortured and mocked by the Romans.

Then He was nailed to the Roman’s instrument of death meant for criminals.

From the cross came some final words.

He thought of His mother and the care she would need.