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Apr 14, 2019

Friendship Sunday 2019

Friendship Sunday 2019

Speaker: Dennis Gallaher

Series: Other

Category: Sunday Morning

Jesus died and was resurrected from the grave so that the franchise of eternity could be ours!

This is the week that changes the course of history because of a person and a plan. The person was Jesus Christ. The plan was to reestablish the love relationship between God and His creation. This Holy Week we pause to remember, to remember the suffering Savior, to remember that Last Supper, to remember the crucified Lord, to remember the dead Jesus, to remember as He was laid in the grave. Then we stand and rejoice over the resurrected Christ.

This act changed not only the history of the world but it began the new day of eternity. It began the countdown when the Almighty God would make all things right and eternity would begin.

If these things are not true, then what fools we have been. Paul said it in I Cor 15:17, If Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins.

Paul comes and says if this is all just a story, then our faith is worthless. Our faith is not in a man who walked on the earth, or in a man that did miracles, or in a man that taught great things, and not just in this one that we call Savior but our faith is in the fact that this Savior rose from the dead, came out of that grave on the 3rd day and lives forevermore to bring life to whosoever comes. It is not about being a good person on this earth. Jesus died and was resurrected so that the franchise of eternity could be ours.

Accepting and receiving Jesus’ forgiveness goes beyond the simple act of believing. Accept what He has done and then the Holy Spirit comes to be an ever-present help and to live inside everyone who would confess they need Jesus. Then you’ll take on His new life.

As we see illustrations of the passion of the Christ, we can feel so sorry for Jesus as we observe those torturous hours. If we pity Jesus, it results in us trying to live a good life or avoiding anything that looks like hypocrisy, or we see Jesus as a victim to be pitied instead of served. Some did the same in Jesus’ day, but Jesus replied to them with harsh words. Luke 23:27-28 And following Him was a large crowd of the people, and of women who were mourning and lamenting Him. But Jesus turning to them said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, stop weeping for Me, but weep for yourselves and for your children.

He says stop weeping - you are misunderstanding. Weep for yourselves and pray for the coming generation. Jesus foretold this tragedy: Matthew 16:21, Mark 8:31, Luke 9:22, John12:23-24.

Jesus knew.

  • Jesus came to take away the sins of the world.
  • The curse of sin affected all – it has cursed every human being and separates us from our Holy God.
  • A sinless sacrifice was necessary.
  • Jesus willingly offered himself as that sacrifice.
  • Jesus Christ lived a perfect life and died a terrible death so that we could be forgiven.
  • His perfect life took the place of my sin-filled life.
  • His death paid the price that I could never afford.

Seeking God is in the heart of every person but there is something even more important - God is seeking you! He willingly laid down His life! Jesus says: 

  • Don’t weep for me!
  • Repent and be delivered from your own death!
  • My death is given so you might live!

Colossians 2:13-15 NLT . . . Then God made you alive with Christ, for He forgave all our sins. He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross. In this way, he disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross.

That terrible cross! The shame, the horror, the torture, the humiliation of that terrible cross! The Creator nailed to a tree of His own creation, the all-powerful god pinned by iron nails to a dead branch, unable to move as His body was racked with indescribable pain, all so you and I could be free from the pain our own sin had inflicted on our souls.

When Jesus looked into the cup, He saw the sins of the whole world. When we look into that cup, we see forgiveness.

But oh the cross, the beautiful cross! The cross that declares that there is a penalty for sin also declares that there is forgiveness for my sin, redemption for me and you.

For those who will appeal to Jesus, His cross will mean life to you - a new life because He paid the price! The Bible promises in First Corinthians 2:9 Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard, and which have not entered the heart of man, all that God has prepared for those who love Him. 

You who seek God, Jesus has come to set you free from the bondage of sin. The cross is the final bridge between you and God. Today, you can cross that bridge.

How do you view God? Disappointed in you? Takes no delight in you? Distant from you? Does not hear your prayers?

Does the beautiful, terrible cross prove God's true love for you?

How do you explain the difference between pitying Jesus on the cross or embracing Jesus on the cross?