INTRODUCTORY REMARKS
- It’s been good to have Stephanie back home this weekend
- Granted- she’s been working a lot of hours in the pharmacy at Presbyterian Hospital in Huntersville
- But overall- it’s been more relaxing than her October visit
- Then she not only had to work at the pharmacy- she spent all her spare time studying for a quiz
- A quiz involving the 300 most-prescribed drugs in America
- You heard me right- the 300 most-prescribed drugs in America
- Anyone want to guess what was number one?
- Listen for guesses
- Prozac. That little pill that helps folks like me keep going
- Steph- what did you wind up making on the quiz?
- Let Steph answer
- Not a perfect score- but it keeps her on track to becoming a pharmacologist
- The truth is most tests- or quizzes- are like that
- You don’t have to be perfect- you don’t even have to make an ‘A’
- To prove you know the material you’re being tested on
TRANSITION
- But there’s one test you face in life that you MUST answer perfectly
- The test only consists of four simple questions
- But your answers are going to determine EVERYTHING
- See- these questions deal with your relationship with Jesus the Christ
- What’s at stake in these questions is your destiny
- Whether you will spend eternity in heaven or in hell is going to decided by how you answer these questions
- Now before we take the quiz I want to read one of the more familiar passages of Scripture in the Bible- John 3:1-21
- With this dramatic conversation in mind- let’s talk about the four questions that will determine your eternity
QUESTION ONE: DO YOU REALIZE THAT YOU’RE A SINNER?
- Folks- the Bible says that every human being is a sinner
- Listen to what God’s Word says in Romans 3:10-12, 22-23
- In this case the word ‘all’ means everyone
- You’re a sinner. I’m a sinner
- A universally loved and respected man like Billy Graham is a sinner
- A street thug sitting on death row is a sinner
- Where human beings are concerned there is no difference
- We’re all sinners
- We all fall short of the glory of God
- Now let me explain what it means to fall short of the glory of God
- You remember the Andy Griffith episode where Opie tries to win an electric shaver for Andy?
- All he has to do is knock down some moving targets at a carnival booth
- Bear in mind- Opie was a good shot
- Andy had taught him how to use a rifle at a young age
- There was only one problem: The sight on the rifle was misaligned
- That meant there was no way he was going to win that shaver
- Every shot he took was headed in the wrong direction
- That’s an illustration of what it means to fall short of the glory of God
- God has a plan- a purpose- a Will- for your life
- But the sin in your life will never let you hit God’s target
- Satan has caused your life to be misaligned
- So that no matter what you do you’re going to miss the mark- you’re going to fall short of the glory of God
- At this point you might be thinking: But Steve- I’m not a BAD person. I’ve never done anything that was so terrible
- I’m not saying that you have
- I’m simply telling you what the Bible says:
- In your life you have fallen short of the glory of God
- And THAT makes you a sinner!
- So let me ask you this question:
- Do you realize that you’re a sinner?
- The only answers are ‘Yes’ or ‘No’
- ‘Yes’- I realize that I’m a sinner
- Or ‘No’- I don’t acknowledge the sin in my life
- Now- if your answer is:
- ‘Yes’- You’ve taken the first step in becoming a born-again believer
- ‘No’- I must warn you that the Bible says you’re going to receive the wages of sin
- And the wages of sin is death
- Spiritual death- Eternal separation from the love and presence of God in a place called hell
- Question 1 is: Do you realize that you’re a sinner?
QUESTION 2: DO YOU REALIZE YOU HAVE NO WAY TO OBTAIN SALVATION ON YOUR OWN?
- Illustration: Stuck In Quicksand
- When I was about 12 or 13 years old I took a camping trip with my R.A. group
- It was a miserable experience
- Three of the worst days of my life
- I almost drowned
- I burned my two of my meals in the campfire
- And got stuck in quicksand
- Now to be honest- I don’t know if a scientist would classify what I stepped in as quicksand
- All I know is that the more I struggled to get out
- The deeper I sunk
- Finally, my R.A. leader tossed me a rope- told me to relax- hold on tight- and he’d pull me out
- Even though I was on the verge of panic- I did what he said
- And- sure enough- he pulled me to safety
- Here’s the point of this illustration: On my own I could have never gotten out of the muck I was in
- That’s the way it is where the sin in your life is concerned
- All your efforts to earn your salvation- to ‘get right with God’ are doomed to failure
- You can:
- Try to live a good life
- Do good things
- Give money to noble causes
- Follow all the rules
- But- it’s not going to work
- The Bible says that ‘good works’ or ‘doing stuff’ will never make you right with God
- Listen to what it says in Romans 3:27-4:5
- Folks- Abraham was a better person than you or I will ever be
- If it were possible to earn your salvation by living a good life and doing good things- he would’ve done it
- But the Bible says even he couldn’t do it
- And if Abraham couldn’t do it
- Neither can you- neither can I
- Now I don’t want you to think that doing good things is wrong
- Christians ought-
- To live lives that are pleasing to God
- To reach out to others with the love of Christ
- BUT- there’s a difference between:
- Trying to earn God’s love through what you say and do
- And RESPONDING to God’s love by doing good things for others
- By this time you may be thinking: I don’t believe what you’re saying Steve. If I live a good life God HAS to let me into heaven
- Look- I’m not going to argue with you
- I’m just telling you what the Bible says: You can not earn your salvation by:
- Living a good life
- Or doing good things
- So question 2 is very simple: Do you realize you have no way to obtain salvation on your own?
- Once again there are only two answers to that question:
- ‘Yes’- I understand that I have no way to obtain salvation on my own
- Or ‘No’- I believe it’s possible to get right with God by doing good things
- If you answered:
- ‘Yes’- You’re this close to discovering eternal salvation through Jesus Christ our Lord
- ‘No’- You’re going to continue on your hopeless journey towards hell
QUESTION 3- DO YOU REALIZE THAT SALVATION IS A FREE GIFT OF GOD’S GRACE?
- You know- I love to see the smile that comes to a person’s face when I tell them about God’s gift of grace
- At this point we will have already explained the devastating truths we’ve discussed this morning
- That every person is a sinner standing under the judgment of God
- That the wages of sin is death- eternal separation from the love and presence of God in a place called hell
- And that no matter how hard you try- you can’t get right with God
- But then I tell them the Good News of God’s grace
- I’ll tell them how God sent His one and only Son Jesus to die on the Cross for their sin
- I’ll show them the Scriptures that tell how God’s grace is offered to anyone who calls on the name of Jesus
- And then I’ll say: And you can be saved if you ask Jesus to forgive you of your sin- and trust Him as your Savior
- That’s about the time a smile of pure joy comes on their face
- What happened?
- They’ve just discovered the wonderful grace of God
- See- that’s the bottom line: The only way to be saved is to rely on the grace of God
- You know- that’s one of those expressions we use in the church all the time: ‘The grace of God’
- But what does ‘the grace of God’ mean? Let me try to illustrate what we’re talking about
- Illustration: Standing Before A Judge
- Try to imagine that you’ve been charged with a serious crime- a crime that’s punishable by death
- In the trial the prosecutors do a masterful job
- They prove beyond any reasonable doubt that you’re guilty as charged
- They do such a good job that it takes less than an hour for the jury to deliver its verdict: Guilty!
- When it’s time for sentencing you’re told to stand before the Judge and you hear him say:
- The punishment for this crime is death.
- It’s a penalty you surely deserve for what you’ve done
- But then- in the same breathe- the Judge says: Nevertheless I am offering to wipe your slate clean. I’m going to let my son serve your sentence- and you will come to live with me as my adopted child
- Again- you might be thinking: That doesn’t make sense. That isn’t just
- If you do the crime
- You must pay the fine.
- But I’m telling you- that’s what grace is
- It isn’t earned- it certainly isn’t deserved
- Instead God offers it freely and openly- on the sole condition that you’ll accept it in your life
- It’s kind of like me offering you a Christmas gift
- It may be the greatest gift in all the world
- But unless you accept it- it’s not going to be yours
- Folks- the Bible says we’re saved by the grace of God
- We don’t deserve it- we can’t explain it- we’ll never understand it this side of heaven
- All we know is what the Bible tells us (Quote John 3:16)
- The third question is have to answer is: Do you realize that salvation is a free gift of God’s grace?
- ‘Yes’- Then hold on, I’m about to tell you how to be saved
- ‘No’- My heart breaks for you because you are destined to be eternally separated from God and His love
QUESTION 4- ARE YOU READY TO ASK JESUS TO BE YOUR SAVIOR?
- I want you to listen very carefully to what I’m about to say:
- Salvation comes down to a simple proposition
- Will you ask Jesus to be your Savior?
- See- when He died on the Cross He did everything that He could do to secure your salvation
- The Bible says that without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sin- Jesus shed His own blood for you
- The Bible says the wages of sin is death- Jesus gladly and willingly received that penalty for you
- That was literally everything that could be done- everything that needed to be done- for you
- Now understand:
- At no time will God force you to accept His love and grace
- Because He loves and respects you- He’ll never impose Himself on you
- Because He is rich in mercy and grace- He will not manipulate you into salvation
- All He asks you to do to be saved is ask Jesus to be your personal Savior
- If you’ve already made that decision- if you’re already a Christian
- You are saved and bound for an eternity spent with Jesus in heaven
- And you can be assured that NOTHING will be able to separate you from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord
- If you’ve never asked Jesus to be your personal Savior
- The Bible says that for you TODAY is the day of salvation
- In other words:
- You shouldn’t put off God’s offer of salvation by grace another day
- TODAY is the day you need to ask Jesus to be your Savior
CONCLUDING ILLUSTRATION
- I want to tell you about a guy named Jeff Fenholdt
- Jeff was one of those ‘overnight’ sensations
- Shortly after graduating from Ohio State Jeff moved to New York to pursue his dream of becoming a star
- It didn’t take him long. Within a few months Jeff was cast in the lead role in the musical Jesus Christ- Superstar
- The show became a Broadway smash hit
- And Jeff became a star
- For the next three years Jeff played Jesus 5 days a week
- Every night- during the Crucifixion scene- Jeff would utter those words: Father, forgive them because they do not know what they’re doing
- Yet he spent most of his time away from the show binging on alcohol and illegal drugs
- After the show finished its run- Jeff joined the heavy-metal band ‘Black Sabbath’
- ‘Black Sabbath’ was hard-core- and Jeff Fenholdt was its swaggering lead singer
- During his time with Black Sabbath Jeff’s alcoholism and drug addiction took over his life
- Jeff’s wife was named Reenie
- They’d married just after college
- And stayed together throughout Jeff’s years of stardom and addiction
- Now what you need to know is that Reenie was a born-again Christian
- She’d accepted Jesus as her Savior just before she and Jeff got married
- You talk about being unequally yoked
- Here Reenie was trying to live for Jesus
- While Jeff’s life was spinning out of control
- Before ‘Black Sabbath’ left on a European tour- he and Reenie decided it was time to remodel their home
- Since Jeff would be out of the country- it was Reenie’s job to hire a construction crew
- She hired a crew who were all members of her church. The foreman of the group was a deacon in the church named Max Sisipio
- When Jeff got home- and Reenie told him who she’d hired- Jeff exploded
- I don’t want those (blanking) Christians in my house
- He stormed upstairs and was met by Max Sisipio who said: Jeff- you played Jesus on stage. But I want to ask you one thing: Are you ready to meet him?
- Jeff spit in Max’s face and ran outside
- For the next hour the Holy Spirit worked on him. He couldn’t get that question out of his mind: Are you ready to meet him?
- Finally he went back inside and told Max: I’m sorry for what I did. I’m not ready to accept Jesus- but if you want to pray for me...
- With those words Max- and his crew- gathered around Jeff and began to pray: Lord- help Jeff say ‘Yes’ to you.
- About 15 minutes later Jeff looked up and said: I think I’m ready to accept Jesus as my Savior
- With those words-
- Max Sisipio lead Jeff in the sinner’s prayer
- And Jeff Fenholdt became a born-again child of God
- That was almost thirty years ago- and Jeff still says: I’ve never once doubted that accepting Jesus as my Savior was the greatest thing I’ve ever done!
- Folks- are you ready to ask Jesus to be your Savior? Let us pray
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