Sermon Notes 4-1-2018

Why the Cross

Easter 2018

Why The Cross? Because we needed a savior

The bible talks a lot about humans and the state we are in

Romans 3:10–12 (ESV)

¹⁰as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one;

¹¹no one understands; no one seeks for God.

¹²All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.”

Isaiah 64:6 (NLT)

⁶We are all infected and impure with sin. When we display our righteous deeds, they are nothing but filthy rags. Like autumn leaves, we wither and fall, and our sins sweep us away like the wind.

Romans 3:23 (NLT)

²³For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.

I know what you're going to say:

·      I am a good person

·      I give to charity

·      I work hard

·      I provide for my family

·      I make it to church “most” Sundays

·      I read my bible occasionally

·      I am not like those “other” people

There is a problem with every statement I just made, it is the Letter “I”

·      You see you can’t do anything

·      You can’t fix yourself

Psalm 51:5 (NLT)

⁵For I was born a sinner— yes, from the moment my mother conceived me.

·      You were born in Sin

I'll prove it to you!

Commandment 1: You shall have no other gods before Me.

·      I bet you have a functional god

o   Money

o   Job

o   Kids

o   You put something before God, I guarantee it

Matthew 6:24 (NLT)

²⁴“No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.

Commandment 2: You shall not make idols.

·      Your TV

·      Your house

·      Your Job

·      Your favorite Nascar driver

·      Think about it, we put all kinds of idols before God!

There was one person who thought he was perfect in God's Sight!

The person I relate to most in the Bible is a guy named Paul, he wrote most of the new testament.

·      He helped kill the first Christian martyr

·      He was “The Man” in his circle

·      And he did everything he could to stop the Christian movement

·      And then he met Jesus

·      And he wrote this about himself

Philippians 3:4–11 (NLT)

⁴though I could have confidence in my own effort if anyone could. Indeed, if others have reason for confidence in their own efforts, I have even more!

⁵I was circumcised when I was eight days old. I am a pure-blooded citizen of Israel and a member of the tribe of Benjamin—a real Hebrew if there ever was one! I was a member of the Pharisees, who demand the strictest obedience to the Jewish law.

⁶I was so zealous that I harshly persecuted the church. And as for righteousness, I obeyed the law without fault.

⁷I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done.

⁸Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For His sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ

⁹and become one with Him. I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God’s way of making us right with Himself depends on faith.

¹⁰I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised Him from the dead. I want to suffer with Him, sharing in His death,

¹¹so that one way or another I will experience the resurrection from the dead!

·      We are all sinners

·      None of us can do it on our own

·      We are all destined for Hell

·      A horrible death

·      And there is nothing “we” can do to stop it

Depressed yet????

·       

Why Jesus?  (in rides the savior)

Romans 6:23 (NLT)

²³For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.

·      Because God is Just and a price has to be paid for sin

·      And that price is Death

Romans 6:23 (NLT)

²³For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.

But because God's character is to Love

·      He gave you a way out!

·      And Jesus is that way out

So what did Jesus do to pay the debt

·      He lived a perfect sinless life

·      He lived just like us all

·      He was tempted in every way

·      He died a horrible death (that we should have died)

·      And because He was sinless He rose on the third day

·      He sacrificed His life for us all

·      And He paid your debt to bring you into right standing with the Father

·      On the cross Jesus said

Luke 23:34 (NLT)

³⁴Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.”

Matthew 27:46 (NLT)

⁴⁶At about three o’clock, Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” which means “My God, my God, why have You abandoned me?”

John 19:30 (NLT)

³⁰When Jesus had tasted it, He said, “It is finished!” Then He bowed His head and released His spirit.

In a nut shell

(the Great Exchange)

Penal: Jesus’s death paid the penalty for the sins of His people. God punished Him as if He were guilty of their sins.

Substitutionary: On the cross, Jesus stood in the place of His people. He was a substitute. He suffered so that they wouldn’t. He was punished so that they would be healed and reconciled to God. He was counted guilty so that they would be counted righteous.

Atonement: Jesus poured out His life as an offering for sin. He atoned for our sin, covering it over and making us at one with God. Where there was enmity, now there is peace. In His substitutionary death, Jesus fully satisfied the demands of God’s justice so that all who turn to Him in faith are counted righteous in God’s sight, accepted by God, reconciled to God, and given eternal life.

We live in a depraved and desperate world that desperately needs Jesus

So what was God trying to tell us in the suffering and Death of Jesus???? The events surrounding the last 24 hours of Jesus’s life on earth speaks of the brokenness of humanity. Each person taking part in the tragedy of Jesus’s death is a reflection of that brokenness.

·      The disciples fell asleep; they fled in fear as Jesus was arrested.

·      Judas betrayed Him, and Peter denied Him.

·      The Pharisees and religious leaders plotted to kill Him,

·      The crowd wanted violence versus a messiah of Love.

·      The governor tried to satisfy the crowd even when he knew it was wrong

·      And the soldiers took delight in the torture and dehumanizing of an innocent man.

What humanity did when God walked this earth is a look in to the soul of all of us.

·      We are meant to find ourselves in this story and to be moved in the tragedy of it all.

·      We are meant to realize that there is something deeply wrong with us all, that we are broken and in desperate need of forgiveness!

·      The suffering and death of Jesus is intended to be a mirror for us all to look into; a reminder of the jealousy, pettiness, self-centeredness, spiritual blindness, and darkness that lurks in us all.  

·      The accounts are meant to move us to repentance.

So Why? Because God Loves us! He is the perfect Dad

We are also meant to see the sacrificial love of the one who suffered for us, as well as His determination to save us from ourselves.

·      He hangs on the cross as if to say “do you see the extent the Father has gone to show you His love”.

·      Do you understand that I have come to show a love so deep that it is willing to suffer, even die for you!

Jesus demonstrates a love that refuses to give up or give in, He is willing to love us even when we don’t love Him or even like Him. He is determined to bring us back in right relationship with God no matter what the cost!!

Ro 5:8 But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Jn 3:16 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.

·      Sacrificial love transforms Lives!

·      It turns enemies in to friends,

·      Turns guilt into repentance, and melts hearts of stone.

·      The world is changed by demonstrations of true sacrificial love and selfless acts of service.

We are to look at the cross and say I have to strive to live more like Jesus, to be worthy of His sacrifice!  We are meant to be changed by the events of the cross and in turn to practice the same sacrificial love demonstrated by Jesus toward others. As each new follower of Jesus shows that same sacrificial love to the world lives will change and the world will be transformed!!

·       

Conclusion:

Jn 13:34–35 34 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are My disciples, if you love one another.”

As Christians we believe, and Jesus taught, that that His suffering and death were the means of salvation for humanity.

·      Through Him, we are offered forgiveness,

·      Redemption, and

·      Right standing with God

·      Through Him we find grace for our sins

·      Mercy for our transgressions

·      And a heart for a broken and fallen world

IF you don’t know Jesus, Are you ready?? Are you ready to turn from Sin and be saved, Jesus' hand is stretched out just waiting on you!

·      Will you today make the choice of life?

·      Will you turn from your sinful ways and give Jesus the reins?

·      We here at PTCC want you to join our family!

·      It won’t always be easy, but we will walk through it with you!