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Apr 01, 2018

He Came To Save

He Came To Save

Speaker: Dennis Gallaher

Series: Transformation

Category: Sunday Morning

We often avoid God because of shame, guilt, or fear. Yet it was His overwhelming, violent, hysterical love for you and me which compelled Him to send His Son, Jesus.

Easter is a time of celebration…that has evolved into a day of family, food, and fun.

The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the greatest act of sympathy for us that could ever take place.

Many avoid the grief of God over their sin.
  -  They suppose God to be a judge.
  -  Some suppose god is interested strictly in performance.
  -  Some assume He is the distant and distracted Ruler.

His grief over sin did not drive God to judge but to forge a path back to Him. He weeps over what sin has done to you.
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Opening Scripture:

Isaiah 53:3    He was despised and forsaken of men, A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and like one from whom men hide their face He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.

Isaiah 53:6  All of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; but the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him.

Isaiah 53:5  But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, and by His scourging we are healed.

Isaiah 53:11-12b  As a result of the anguish of His soul, He will see it and be satisfied; by His knowledge the Righteous One, My Servant, will justify the many, as He will bear their iniquities. Yet He Himself bore the sin of many, and interceded for the transgressors. Blinded by preference, by their own desires for a King, they were missing the truth of who was standing in their presence.

He will see you hiding and denying no more, confessing and repenting, and receiving not the punishment due but the embrace of the Lover of your soul.

Easter, the Resurrection, is the triumph of the suffering Savior who declared, “My Father so loved this world and all who are in it that He sent me to embrace the lost and sinners and pay the price that only a sinless sacrifice could give.”

God does not see you as trash to be kicked aside or as the one that will never measure up.
- He sees you as being terribly alone in your guilt.
- He knows what you have done to yourself, and He throws His arms around you and holds you tightly.

Won’t you accept your pardon that His resurrection offers to you? Easter is truly the door that now opens to you a future and a hope.
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2 Corinthians 5:17   Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.

Titus 3:5  He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit.

Jesus saw the grievous sin of every one of us.

God gets angry about sin. Jesus got angry about sin, many times, especially hardness of heart and hypocrisy.

But Easter is not about being afraid of God and His wrath about sin.
- It is about the triumph of God’s broken heart for the sinner.
- It is Jesus’ pierced hands embracing you and hearing the words, “It is finished.”
- Easter is the Door of Hope that leads from your Valley of Trouble.
- Jesus is the only One who could open it.

1 Timothy 1:15   It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all.

He came to save, not to judge, to check off our deeds against an impossible list, or to observe but never relate.

He came to embrace the sinner, to weep for you in your tragedy, and to bear your sins.

There is no promise you can make that wil replace confession and repentance.
There is no price that you can pay - no penance for sin that is enough.
There is no sacrifice greater than what Jesus gave.
There is no sweeter release than freedom from guilt.
There is no greater Friend than Jesus!
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