Audio Version Available By: Rev. Steve Bass
October 1, 2006
INTRODUCTION
- Sometimes Christians make me SICK
- Take the Rev. Fred Phelps
- Pastors the Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kansas
- Claims the Bible preaches hate- runs a website called God Hates America.org
- Phelps stages protests at the funerals of American soldiers killed in Afghanistan and Iraq
- He holds up placards that read Thank God for Dead Soldiers
- And then there’s U.S. Representative Katharine Harris
- She recently told the Florida Baptist Witness that the principle of separation of church and state is a lie
- And that if Christians aren't elected to office in essence you are going to legislate sin
- Even Dr. Jerry Falwell recently got into the act- jokingly comparing Hillary Clinton to Satan
- Look- Senator Clinton would never be my choice for President
- But come one- she’s not Satan!
- A few years ago Tony Campolo wrote a book entitled Following Jesus Without Embarrassing God
- Apparently some folks need to read that book
- Because some of the things Christians say or do are...
- Idiotic at best
- Downright dangerous at worst
- In fact- if I thought Jesus agreed with some of the things that are said and done in His name
- I'd change careers tomorrow- no way I'd be a pastor
- And I'd probably stop calling myself a Christian
- Fortunately- that’s NOT a problem.
- You see- when you discover-
- The Jesus revealed in the Bible-
- The Jesus we're worshiping this morning
- You...
- won't be repelled or turned off
- will want to love Him and serve Him and live for Him every single day of your life!
- So this morning let’s celebrate Jesus!
LET’S CELEBRATE HIM AS GOD’S ONE AND ONLY SON
- You know- it’s hard to believe but in less than 2½ months we'll be in the middle of the Christmas season
- But before you get caught up in the buying and the decorating and the Ho-Ho-Ho-ing
- Let’s talk about why Christmas matters
- Christmas matters because of Jesus
- That might sound like something you'd expect a preacher to say
- But it happens to be the truth
- See- Jesus was different from...
- Anyone who had ever lived before Him
- Or anyone who’s ever lived since He came to Earth
- The Bible says Jesus was God’s one and only Son
- This can be a hard thing to grasp- but the Bible is saying that Jesus came to Earth as God in human flesh
- In other words:
- He was completely, totally, absolutely God
- And He was completely, totally, absolutely human
- So what does that mean?
- For one thing- it means Jesus had a relationship with God that was different from anything we can imagine.
- It was more intimate
- It was more perfect
- It was closer than any relationship a human being could have another person
- Read what Jesus said about this relationship in John 17:20-22
- Now the fact that Jesus was fully God and fully human should tell you something.
- It says God is concerned about you
- He...
- wasn't interested in being some remote God who could care less whether you lived or died
- No! Jesus proves that God loves you and cares about you more than you could POSSIBLY imagine
- But there’s more: Because Jesus was God in human flesh- He gets it!
- Jesus knows what it feels like to be anxious about the future
- He told His disciples that birds have their nests and foxes have their holes
- But the Son of God had no place to lay His head
- Jesus knows what it’s like to grieve the death of a loved one
- Sometime between His 12th and 30th birthdays Jesus’ earthly father died
- As Joseph’s oldest son Jesus would have been responsible for preparing his body for burial
- Jesus knows what it’s like to experience the pain of a broken family
- The Bible says Jesus’ brothers and sisters thought He was crazy and needed to be locked up for His own protection
- Trust me- Jesus understands the conflicts and tensions that can exist in a family
- Jesus knows what it’s like to stare in the face of death
- In the Garden of Gethsemane- in the hours before His death- He sweat drops of blood
- His anguish was so great He prayed: Father- if it possible take this cup from me. Nevertheless may Your Will be done
- Jesus knows what it means to experience terrible, excruciating pain
- Before His Crucifixion He was beaten and battered virtually beyond human recognition
- When the soldiers drove the nails in His wrists and ankles He felt the white-hot pain of each blow
- Read what the Bible says about Jesus in Hebrews 4:15
- Like I said- Jesus gets it
- Because He was fully God- and fully human He gets it
- And THAT is something to celebrate
LET’S CELEBRATE HIS MESSAGE OF GOD’S LOVE, GRACE AND FORGIVENESS
- From time-to-time people will ask me: Steve, what does the Bible have to say about sin?
- Typically- my answer puts a look of surprise on their face
- A lot less than you probably think
- What I mean is that...
- A lot of people have this idea that the Bible is-
- A big book of No’s
- Created by an angry God who is obsessed with sin
- But the fact is- it really isn't
- If you want the essence of what the Bible says about sin it comes down to three things:
- 1- Sin is a fact of human existence. According to the Bible:
- All people are sinners
- It’s not so much that-
- you're a sinner because you've sinned
- you've sinned because sin is a tragic part of human nature
- 2- Sin is an expression of your rejection of God
- The essence of sin- the reason why you do the things you do- is because you've rebelled against God
- Something within you made you reject God’s authority in your life
- Having made that decision- you're capable of doing almost anything
- That’s why the Bible says all sin is the same in God’s eyes
- This doesn't mean that telling a little white lie is the same as killing someone
- What it means is both lying and murder are symptoms of the underlying disease of sin
- A disease that affects every human being on the planet
- Finally- the Bible says the wages of sin is death
- Which doesn't mean physical death
- It means spiritual death- eternal separation from God in a place of punishment prepared for Satan and his demons
- Now these three truths encompass pretty much everything the Bible has to say about sin!
- In other words: There’s no obsession here (hold up the Bible)
- Because God loves you-
- He wants you to know the truth about sin
- Because He REALLY wants you to know about His love- and grace- and forgiveness
- When Jesus lived on Earth He constantly talked about God’s love- and grace- and forgiveness
- Do you know what a parable is?
- A parable is a story with a message
- During His time on Earth Jesus told a lot of stories with a message
- And the vast majority of these parables illustrated the depth and power of God’s love- and grace- and forgiveness
- In one- He compared the love human beings have for their children to the infinite love God has for you and me
- In another- He told a story about a loving father who joyously welcomed a rebellious son back home- before the son had a chance to even say Dad- I'm sorry
- In still another- He said we should practice unlimited forgiveness to others because we've received unlimited forgiveness from God
- Throughout His time on Earth- Jesus went out of His way to prove that a holy and righteous God is ready to:
- Freely forgive you of all of your sin
- Purify you from the stain of unrighteousness
- And literally remember your sin no more!
- I could keep going- but I think you get the point:
- Jesus came bearing Good News of God’s grace- and love- and forgiveness
- And THAT’S something to celebrate
LET’S CELEBRATE HIS SACRIFICIAL DEATH ON THE CROSS
- If you've seen the movie The Passion Of The Christ you know it earned its R rating
- It was a brutal movie- horrific movie- it was very difficult to watch
- It was also historically accurate
- The way the movie depicted the terrors of crucifixion
- Is pretty much the way it was
- Which may make what I'm about to say sound crazy: Jesus’ death on the Cross is something to celebrate
- Not the obscene violence of crucifixion
- What we're celebrating is what Jesus accomplished by dying on the Cross
- At one time there was a law in Tokyo, Japan that said no foreigner could live in the city unless they had a substitute
- A substitute had to be a native of Japan who would be hired to represent the foreigner in a court of law
- But we're not talking about a lawyer-client relationship
- The substitute didn't defend the foreigner
- His job was to take the foreigner’s place if he got in trouble with the law
- In other words: The SUBSTITUTE would suffer the penalty for the foreigner’s crime
- Even if you were talking about a crime calling for the death penalty
- That may sound strange- even extreme
- But that’s what Jesus did for you on the Cross
- By dying- Jesus became your substitute- receiving the punishment for your sin
- Scripture references
- In commenting on these verses Max Lucado writes: God watched in silence while the sins of the world were placed upon His Son. Was it right? No. Was it fair? No. Was it love? Yes! In a world of injustice, God once and for all tipped the scales in favor of hope...
- And now it REALLY gets good! Read what the Bible says in Romans 5:10-11
- The key word here is reconciliation
- Reconciliation means the coming to agreement of two or more person after a period of estrangement
- What this means is that by dying on the Cross Jesus was able to make things right between you and God!
- In one of his books, James Hewett tells the story of a little girl whose parents were going through a bitter divorce
- Shortly after her parents separated- the little girl was diagnosed with leukemia
- Despite the best efforts of the doctors
- She got sicker and sicker until it became clear she was going to die
- Now you'd think in that kind of situation her parents could set aside their bitterness and anger
- But you'd be wrong
- Throughout the little girl’s ordeal the rancor intensified on both sides
- Finally- just before she died the little girl...
- Looked at her father and said Daddy- hold my hand
- Then she turned to her mother and said: Mommy- hold my hand
- With those words- she pulled her parents together- and died
- That’s a pretty good illustration of what Jesus accomplished on the Cross
- By sacrificing Himself, He took your hand and lovingly placed it in the hand of God
- And THAT’S something to celebrate
LET’S CELEBRATE HIS WILLINGNESS TO ACCEPT YOU JUST AS YOU ARE
- You know- a lot of people think that before you become a Christian you've got to straighten up and fly right
- You know-
- Get your act together
- Change some bad habits
- And start living a GOOD life
- But that’s not the way it works
- You don't get right- and then become a Christian
- First you get right with God- you become a Christian- and THEN He takes care of the other stuff
- Read Luke 19:1-10
- It’s interesting that Zacchaeus told Jesus IF I have cheated anybody out of anything
- Look- there’s no question Zacchaeus had cheated people and stolen their money
- He was a Roman tax collector- that’s how he made his living
- He was required to meet a tax quota the Romans had set for his district
- Anything he could get beyond that was money in his pocket
- Jesus knew that going in
- He knew Zacchaeus was a lying, cheating, conniving crook
- But He accepted him anyway: Zacchaeus- come down here and join Me. I'm going to stay in your house tonight!
- The amazing thing about Jesus is that He always accepted people just the way they were
- He hung out with a motley crew of prostitutes- and adulterers- and criminals- and outcasts- and tough guys- and religious rejects
- we're talking about people who were completely alienated and cut off from polite society
- People that good religious folks avoided at all costs
- And He didn't ask them to change
- Instead He loved them- and accepted them- and forgave all of their sin
- And offered them a fresh new start in life!
- Guess what? He’s still doing it today
- Jesus is taking people as they are
- And saving them through the power of the blood He shed on the Cross
- Read what Jesus says in Matthew 11:28-30
- Now THAT’S something to celebrate. Let us pray.
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