Well church, last week I did start the new series called The
Gospel and we are going to be doing this this week in two more
weeks before we start on our summer series, which we're going
to be looking at The Parables really excited about that.
And when I launched this last week, I sent you that.
Normally, when you, when I preach one of the team
preachers, we ask God some questions, one of which is what
is your words say? That's the first question, is
always a good question to ask. Number two is, how do you apply
it? How do we apply it to our lives?
Today because who knows that this book is as relevant as it
is. As it was 2,000 years ago as it
is today or vice versa where you want to position that.
But the third question is this, why are you saying this to us
today? Because the reality is, I could
just just read through this and everything would be of benefit
to us, but God speaks in seasons and he emphasizes something.
We need to here for a particular reason, and I felt the Lord
impressed upon me that we needed to hear the truth of the Gospel
are fresh as plainly as in clearly as possible.
Why is that the case and I gave a few reasons.
Number one is that, I think it's, it's a reality for Any of
us, especially if you've been walking with the Lord for a long
time. That we may not fully grasp, the
magnitude of the Gospel. We almost take it for granted.
Or we don't fully understand what the gospel is.
And so when people ask us, what is the hope that we have in
Jesus? We somehow find a little bit
difficult to be able to share clearly what the gospel message
is. Number 2 and other reason, I
think we are in a season and let's be Frank, this is always
been the case. In fact, you can read it in
Galatians which I did last last week when Paul said to the
church, there, listen, you've been listening to another gospel
because there are other gospels being preached.
And the problem is they sounded they sound like they are full of
Truth. But they are--.
And how do they do so gospel such as If you sign up to Jesus,
you're going to get the best life that you deserve.
The gospel has become some kind of magic formula to attain all
of your life's goals. The gospel has become something
like this. You are a fantastic person but
did you know, you can be even better.
As we looked at last week, that is not actually the gospel, that
is a false gospel. And yet you look at YouTube look
at God TV channels and I'm not suggesting that all the content
is like that, but there is a lot of gospel quotes that is
positioned as You name it, you can claim it.
Positioned, as if you. So into this, you'll get 10
times next week, gospels around having a life of ease.
And if you don't have a knife of Life of ease, it's because you
don't have enough faith. And I'm sure you've heard of
these quote gospels, but that is not the gospel.
There is no power in that gospel.
It might as it says in the book of Timothy tichelman, your ears
and it says in the end times that people would lean toward
Doctrine truth that tickles, our ears that things are we want to
hear but the gospel is an offense because the gospel
reveals the condition of man. And that's what we looked at
last week, I posed the point that in order for good news to
be good it there for Supposes that there is bad news, of
course. Because if there was no bad news
or good news, would be good news and there would be no good news,
you follow, you know, and I gave the example, if you come back
from the doctors, good news, the the test results came back
clear. It's because the prospect of bad
news exists, that it could have been bad news.
Or that, you know, I've got my mot and good news it passed
because that's good news because the opposite bad news could have
happened. And so the problem with how we
see the gospel is we say it's the good news and we say you are
saved but we've got no idea there for why it's good and we
got no idea what we say from And what we say is we say from a
boring life, to a better life and the good news is just a bit
better than the good news. You've currently got But that's
not the gospel. And the third red will look at
this in about the third reason is this when we truly comprehend
the magnitude and the greatness of the good news, then it causes
us to praise him and to fall on our knees in Humble, adoration.
So those are the reasons why I felt the Lord prompt me to
preach on the gospel. And it's another way to think
about when we get to The Parables, he will The Parables
demonstrate the gospel in story. And so as we head into the
series on Parables, I think it's rather helpful for us to
understand what the good news is that they are.
They are speaking to Okay, so we looked at the bad news last week
and his way of a recap and if you were there last week in your
back again, glad you're back, the bad news is pretty bad, to
be honest with you, we looked at the sin with a fool with Adam
and Eve, and we looked at what that actually meant the broken
relationship with the heavenly father, the shame and the guilt
that came rushing in and then we pose the question, okay?
Well that's fine. But how on Earth does apply to
us here in the present day? And we looked at what Paul said
in his writings that that have through the one, Adam sin came
into the world and we call that original sin.
In other words, we're born into that state, why?
Because we are not just born into the effects of sin and we
see that all around us. We are born with a corrupted
nature bison. Yeah, it's not even like we can
perform myself out of it by being good.
The problem is our very Nature has been corrupted and changed
and so that's why the message of be of Christianity, is not a
message of good works. It's a message of Redemption
where our nature is changed and you might be shocked by this
statement. But I'm going to tell you anyway
because I don't care. It's going to be good people in
hell and bad people in heaven. Now, what does he mean by that?
I am not minimizing good works because as we read in James,
good work is a fruit of and a demonstration of a saving faith
in Christ. What I'm trying to tell you, is
this the conversations we have with people and you might have
it with, you might have it with other people.
Yourselves is well he's a good person, therefore he should go
to heaven. They're a bad person, they will
be going to hell. Whether you go to heaven or hell
is not based on your work, is based on whether or not your
Nature has been changed and you are adopted into the family of
God and you become a child of God.
That is the message of Christianity.
You get me? And when we understand that wow,
thank goodness for that. You mean I don't have to work
for my salvation. No, you do not.
The gospel is good news because we don't have to do anything for
it. We don't have to earn our way to
heaven. The question about whether you
go to heaven and spend eternity with God comes down to this.
Are you a new creation in Christ?
Jesus. And you adopted into the family.
Because as I said last week, not everybody is a child of God, if
everyone was a child of God, then what's the point of Jesus
died on the cross for us? If everyone was a child of God
then clearly everyone will get an inheritance.
But the inheritance is saved for those that say, yes, and their
nature is changed and they're part of the family.
That's why it says that Spirit of adoption in US.
Cries Abba, you can only cry Abba Father.
If you are a new creation and your Nature has changed you with
me, good? All right, well with that
summary, brother long summary, let's unpack the good news
because as we know the good news and that's what gospel means, is
not a thing. The good news isn't a place, the
good news isn't a magic formula. The good news is a person.
The good news is Jesus himself, that is the good news.
It is the work and the person of Jesus Christ.
Why is Jesus good news for us? I'll give you the headline and
we'll unpack it together. Jesus takes away the work and
the result of the bad news of sin in our lives.
That's it, that bad news, that corrupted nature that broken
relationship. Jesus Takes that away and
restores us. That is the central story of
God's Redemptive plan in the Bible.
Let's look at John 3:16 because this is going to be our anchor,
text, and it rather sums up the gospel.
We're going to look at verse 16 to 18.
It says, this for God, so loved the world.
We've been singing about that. Listen God.
So that's the white hot wire of it all God, so loves the world.
Old. He wasn't like oh, that was a
failure. Adam and Eve can't be bothered
with those guys and let me go to another distant Universe
somewhere in try again for God. So loved his creation.
Why it's not that God chooses to exhibit love.
God is love for God. So loved the world that He Sent
His only begotten, son, that whoever believes in him, should
not perish. But have eternal life.
That not perish is the bad news. Use because if you don't accept
Jesus and believe in him, then that is where you're heading our
default destination. When we are born, is not
eternity with Jesus in heaven, and then we don't like talking
about this stuff do week, that's like, but this is the truth of
the Gospel. You know, Paul said, I'm not
afraid of the gospel because it is the power of God unto
salvation. We are in the business of saving
Souls, that is the church is Great Commission to save the
Lost. We have to save them from
somewhere and maybe you're in the room this morning and you
have yet to believe in Jesus and you're saying this is rather
hard to hear, I'm not a bad person.
Like, and I'm going to say to you, I'm sure you're not bad,
I'm sure you do better work than I do, but I'm telling you right
now for the God, so loves you. That he wants a restored
relationship with you. And so, he sent his son to.
I'd Die For You. Ariel.
The god did not send his son into the world to condemn the
world. Jesus didn't come wagging.
His finger saying, look, what a bad bunch of people.
You are, he came to save the Lost.
That whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does
not believe is condemned already.
Why are they condemned already? Because that's the default
destination. You get it.
If you don't believe in Jesus, you're condemned already because
that's the Fallen nature, the Fallen state that you're in.
Because he has not believed in the name of the son, the only
son of God. The good news is this Jesus has
made a way to restore relationship with him.
Now, we talked about last week, how it was already prophesize
and I told you, what we call the protoevangelium, which sounds
rather Posh word, but it simply means there's Proto from
prototype means first and Evangelion is Latin for gospel.
And we looked at the Declaration that First Gospel declaration in
chapter 3 when God cursed, The Serpent and said, I will put
enmity between Between you and the woman and between your
Offspring and her Offspring, he shall bruise your head, The
Offspring of Eve. And you shall bruise his heel,
that was a declaration of the Gospel that Our Redeemer would
come that there would be a seed War.
Why do you think Pharaoh wanted to get rid of all the
firstborns? Why did the Herod wanted to get
rid of all the firstborns? Herod was not acting in his
natural. But the enemy was working
through Herod because they didn't.
The enemy does didn't want the seed of Eve to come.
Because he could see the Redemptive plan and they're not
only, we did, we have the Declaration in chapter 3, we had
the demonstration of it when God took animals and sacrifice them
to in order to take that skin and cover Adam and Eve.
That was a deck that was a demonstration of the Gospel that
there would be one that would come to shed his blood so that
our sins would be covered how awesome is that that in one
chapter chapter 3, you get the fall, you get a prophetic
Declaration of the gospel and then a demonstration.
I mean isn't that amazing? You know your figleaves won't do
it. But you know, there's more I was
reminded to people message me this week and said, Mark I just
want to send you this. You might be aware of this, but
look how awesome this is. And I have been aware of it, but
it was confirmation to share it on the screen is the genealogy
of Adam to Noah. These are the names on the left
in Hebrew, and this is the English translation.
Adam. Seth enosh Kenan mahalalel
Jared, Enoch Methuselah lamech Noah.
Look at the English words. Now, let's put this in a
sentence that you ready. Let's go for the next slide.
Next slide. man is appointed mortal sorrow but the Blessed
God shall come down, teaching that his death shall, bring the
despairing wrist, If that doesn't cause you get on your
knees and worship God. And what does Are you kidding
me? You kidding me.
Don't tell me, listen, we minimize God's sovereignty.
And don't tell me that this isn't god-breathed.
When you look at stuff like that every jot and Tittle it says is
placed here for a reason. How my word for God?
So loved the world that he already had a plan.
It wasn't like he was like, oh, flip-flops I had I said flip
last week. I apologize for my swearing.
That is the extent of my vocabulary as it relates to
spare, and he didn't say, oh my word Adam.
And Eve sinned. Can we put that back up there?
Please Chantelle. Thank you.
Adam and Eve sinned. What are we going to do?
God is outside of time. He already knew this already had
a plan and not only did he write it in his word?
He put it in his people. Oh wow, man is appointed mortal
sorrow. That is what happens with with
born into, but the Blessed God shall come down in manual Christ
with us teaching, what his death shall bring despairing, rest.
Thank you, Lord. Amen.
Let's worship. And there was 300 plus
prophecies in the Old Testament of the coming Messiah, all of
which are fulfilled. As I 714 the prophecy of a
virgin conceived and bare in a son who will be called Emmanuel
God With Us. Why a virgin birth?
Because Jesus wasn't born into original sin because that comes
through Adam, right? See God knows what he's doing.
It wasn't God just showing off and saying I'm gonna do a virgin
birth to show how powerful I am. It was because Jesus and it
said, the prophecy. The Offspring of Eve.
Isn't that interested in say, the seed of Adam will come, he
said The Offspring of Eve Oh my word.
Look, God, you are amazing. Or, I just looked at the time,
we are forgiven. I want to look at.
How Jesus Jesus his work on the cross is such great news because
as we read in Romans as as Sin came through one man.
Adam or death, came through one man.
Adam, so life comes through the second Adam Jesus, that's how it
works. That's why Jesus had to come
fully man fully God and die in our stead in our place and I
want to give you three things that the cross did for us, that
is good news and The we often call this the atonement, anyone
heard that word atonement. And I want you to explain what
the atonement means, because essentially the atonement is
actually an action of making amends, But it includes multiple
things, you might have heard about.
And so I want to look at those key three things on the cross.
Number one, that our on the cross, our sins have been
forgiven more specifically, our sin debt has been paid by Jesus.
You know, we need to understand that God is perfectly just and
sin, cannot go unpunished. Okay?
Here's Justice demands, that sin be dealt with in a manner that
upholds. His righteousness, his Holiness
and maintains the Integrity of his moral order, okay.
God is a just God, he cannot not be judge, and he cannot not.
Stop. Love him, okay.
These two are held in perfect unity and balance on the cross.
The justice of God and the love of God.
If we lean on one side of the other than we are.
So for example, if we keep, if we just forget about the God is
a, just God and a righteous God and we say, well, God is love.
God is love which, of course he is, but if you take away the
rest, what happened say, well God is love.
So he approves of your lifestyle, God is love.
So that love Must Be Love but his love so you can do what you
wish and before you know it you go on a path where you have to
remove certain biblical truths. Well if God is love, there is no
No, hell because that's not loving.
Well, if God is love. That means any love that.
You express his love and all you do is you scrub out, God's
righteousness and his and his law.
And then you get to the point where you have to question,
therefore, why on Earth did Jesus go on the cross then?
You're like, wait a minute, I've just slipped right down to a
point where there is no, good news because there is no bad
news. And that is the culture that we
are living in. And I have a hug.
Be honest with you church. It was a part of me that is that
preaches this in some level of trepidation because the
humanness in me is like people just want to hear a message that
will make them feel happy. And there aren't many preaching
that uses phrases like hell and corrupted nature and it's not a
very Seeker sensitive thing to do, is it?
But I have a hot not that I agree with that approach.
By the way, Sika targeted. Yes, that's what the church
does. But not sensitive and they've
got out of minimizing, so we don't offend people but there is
a holy boldness that is coming on me in this time.
And in this moment to preach the gospel, it's like this a judge,
you go to the judge, let's say you're caught doing something
terrible, a huge crime, Justice demands that you pay for that.
And so you go to the courtroom and you're in front, you're in
the dock. And the judge is in front of you
and the judge says I am a judge. And because of your crime.
Your charge is a trillion dollars.
You say there is absolutely no way my fig leaves will cover
that trillion dollars. This is what happens.
The judge sentences. He takes his hat off and he
comes down the stairs and he comes to you and kisses you on
your cheek. Gets his checkbook out and he
writes a trillion dollars and it gives it to you to pay.
That is what the cross is all about.
Fully just full of. No in Egypt, the last plague.
Was that the angel of death would pass over and all the
first ones would die? And Moses is, listen, guys, if
you get a lamb Slaughter, it eat the lamb as well and put the
blood on the lintels, on the doorpost.
Remember this story? And if you do that, that angel
of death will pass over. That's how celebrate Passover.
You know, that was a foreshadow and type of Jesus to come.
Says in John 1:29, John saw Jesus coming toward him and
said, Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world,
you see? The sacrificing of the shedding
of blood pays for the sin debt. That's what happens.
And you see, did you know that Jesus died as they were
celebrating Passover on the exact moment?
Those lambs have been slaughtered for Passover.
Jesus died on the cross as our Passover Lamb.
Isn't that just profound? you see what happens is this
that the penalty of sin, which is death Jesus Paid for on our
behalf and received the full wrath of God.
That was due us. That is profound.
Why? So that the spirit of death
passes over us and we have life eternal with God.
That is what happened on the cross number one.
Number two, we become righteous which means in right standing
with God. You see this is the second part
of the Divine exchange where our sin was given to Christ and he
paid that for us. His righteousness is then given
to us. Sounds like a good deal to me.
And it's called imputation. And this is a don't want to use,
Flash words. But guys, words are important
because this words doesn't mean that we are changed and become
righteous. It means that the righteousness
of Christ is credited to us. It's a legal term.
So, therefore, when God looks at us, yes, we still fool.
Yes, we make mistakes, but when he looks at us legally, we have
a right standing with God because of the righteousness of
Christ is imputed to us to get that.
And that's why we are called holy because the Holiness or
righteousness of God of Christ is given to us and when God
looks at us, he says You Are Holy and you are righteous.
And number three, there's a third piece of the atonement.
Our nature is changed. So number one, our sins are
forgiven tick. Number two, we become righteous
are standing his righteous with God.
And number three are very nature, is changed.
We are born again of the spirit. That's what we call.
Born-again believers. We Are Born Again by the spirit,
so that we are now Alive by the spirit and can have fellowship
with God. That is what happens.
Our very nature is changed. We born again.
Let's use the analogy of a factory.
Imagine a factory that produces broken products and pollutes the
atmosphere. Okay.
That's, that's our fallen nature before we say yes to Jesus.
When our sins are forgiven, the first part of the atonement.
They looked at it's as if the impact of the broken products
and all the pollution, the cost of all that is paid for by God.
There are I'll pay for the impact of your broken product
and I'll cover the cost of the pollution that you've made, but
your factory needs to change, quite frankly, And so what
happens is our Factory when our sins are forgiven, there is
still the tendency to produce bad products and to pollute.
And so the other part of the atonement is that are very
Factory ourselves is under new ownership and its purpose is
change. That is what it means, have a
new nature. Now it's a process of retooling
and learning to bear fruit as we live by the spirit.
And sometimes we will produce bad products and sometimes we
will pollute the atmosphere around us, but we're under new
ownership and we've been retooled by the spirit of God,
that is what it means for our nature to be changed.
So it's not just that our sins are forgiven.
It's that are very Factory. Our very selves need to be
changed and so those are the three things of the atonement.
I want us to be clear. Number one, the shedding of
Christ's blood as a sacrifice means that our sin debt is paid
for the wrath of God. That was do us is now on Number
two, it means that we become righteous.
The when God looks at us, he sees us as holy.
And number three are, very nature is changed.
As I invite the band up, I want to just touch on as we end.
Why? This is those three things is
such good news. Number one, it means.
Therefore and I've talked about this already, we are adopted
into the family. Our identity of as a child of
God is restored. We become once again a son and a
daughter of the most high. And that's why we cry out.
Abba. And a lot of us are seeking
identity. Let me tell you, your identity
is in Christ. A lot of the bad stuff that
happens is because we operate out of that identity of a child
of God, and the freedom that comes, when we realize that we
are, his brings Peace, and Freedom, number two, we get
access to the father and Eternity with him.
It says, As in Ephesians 3, 12 that we can run boldly into the
presence of God. That is what the cross that is
what the person of Christ has done for us, that we can sit on
his lap and that we can worship him.
That we are called To Worship in spirit and in truth, you can
only worship God if your nature is changing Born Again by the
spirit. And you know, Jesus said, I go
to prepare a place for you for where I am, so you will be also
that is our future, hope that we spend eternity with him.
Number 3, we have the Holy Spirit in US.
We are sealed for the day of redemption.
One of the questions that people ask is, can you lose your
salvation? I want to tell you.
You cannot. Why is that the case?
Because you are born again, not by works.
Lest any man should boast but by the spirit of God.
And so if you're not saved by works, your Works won't keep you
saved. Because if you think that you
can lose your salvation because you're not doing well enough,
then you fallen into a gospel of works.
Now, I'm not trying to minimize the importance of good works.
I'm not trying to minimize the fruit of that, but hear me
Church. And I'm not trying to make
excuse, but walk in that narrow path because there is a narrow
path and sacrifice. But if you said yes to Jesus,
you are a new creation in Christ Jesus.
You are still for the day of redemption.
And Jesus says, I will not lose any that you have given me
father Okay, I have met so many people that are bound up in
works because they are fearing that they're not saved and they
can lose it. I want to just share that truth
with you now and I know there's scriptures.
You could say, well Mark, what about this?
Or what about that? I'm happy to have that
conversation with you. Number three, we become for, we
become co-heirs with Christ. We get to rule and reign with
him for all eternity. We get to be partakers of the
inheritance of a Heavenly Glory. That is amazing news.
And we are empowered by the spirit to extend the good news
of Jesus. As he Paws upon us, his gifts
and the anointing church, I'm reminded of in the
scriptures when you had the Berean Church and they were
affirmed by Paul because they would always test what Paul said
by the scriptures. We need to be like bereans, we
need to test the scriptures, but it means that we need to do our
work to. We are battling against a
consumer church. Where you come in, you get fed,
you get fat, you go out, I'm saying to us if you want to walk
with Jesus and be his disciple, then you've got some work to do
and dive in, in the scripture, the same.
Do you say about this Lord? And you might need to re-watch
this. You might need to re-listen you
might need to