The Christian Bar of Soap - 1 John 1:9

The Christian bar of soap
Dennis Hickerson
April 29, 2012
1 John 1:9

• We all need forgiveness
• Christians too
• Romans 3:23 - all have sinned
• Christians fail
• Matt 26:41 - our flesh is weak
• Adam left us with this when he sinned in the Garden of Eden
• All have sinned - this is all of us, and includes sins of commission and ommission
• Romans 5:11 - reconciled through Jesus
• We ask God into our life, and we are forgiven
• But we still fall
• Things happen, thoughts come into our mind
• Even Peter
• Peter drew a sword and cut off a soldier's ear
• He was brave
• Yet he denied Jesus three times
• He was grieved in his heart for his failure
• Luke 22:62 - remorse
• John 21:12-19 - Jesus tells Peter, feed my sheep. 
• He was reaffirming that he forgave him for denying him
• The apostle Paul had sin in his life
• Romans 7:14-25 - Paul struggled in his inner life
• 1 John 1:4-9 - When Christ forgives, it is water under the bridge
• No matter how bad we have been, we can receive forgiveness
• 1 John 1:9 - confession comes first
• A lamb was offered as an atonement
• David once sinned, by taking a census
• 1 Chron 21:9 - David had to choose his punishment
• He had to take full responsibility for his actions.  Punishment was necessary
• Grace is the love and mercy of God in action
• John 3:16 - God's grace saves us forever
• Rom 8:38 - nothing can separate us from God's love
• God's grace is unconditional, and apart from works
• 2 Cor 12:9 - "My grace is sufficient" - God's grace still works through him
• Rev 22:17 - we can come to Jesus for forgiveness
• Romans 3:23-24 - God's grace justifies
• Titus 3:7-8 - Saved by Jesus, by grace
• Titus 2:11-12 - grace leads to a cleaner life
• Grace is the underserved love of God
• 1 Tim 1:9 - "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just, and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness 

The Grace Gate! - Romans 5:2

The Grace Gate!

April 22, 2012
Romans 5:2

Introduction

• Have you ever wondered, have I really been forgiven?
• Has God really wiped out that sin which I committed?
• We sometimes find it hard to experience forgiveness
• The first step to restoring relationship with God, is to bring ourselves and our sin, to Him
• Our sins separated us from God, now we need these sins removed from us
• God provided a way to take care of this, in the old testament
• When the Israelites were told to make the tabernacle, there was a courtyard around the tabernacle.
• It was made of posts covered with fine linen, on the north, west and south sides
• On the east side was a 30 foot entrance, which was special, the white linen was embroidered with blue purple and scarlet yarn
• When people would come to ask for forgiveness of their sins, they would bring their sin offering to the gate, or entrance
• The priest would instruct them to bring their goat to the place of slaughter, lay their hands on the head of the goat, and then the person who had sinned had to slaughter the goat of the sin offering
• The priest would pray for the man and he would be forgiven
• Nothing is said about doing penance, or payment of money
• All that had to be done was a symbolic act, transferring the sin onto Jesus
• This is grace

The gate was open

• God had provided a way for forgiveness to be extended
• The way was open for people to restore their relationship with God
• The way in which people received forgiveness was by grace
• God did not make it impossible to achieve.
• The person who wanted forgiveness had to come to the entrance to the tabernacle – I have called it the grace gate
• Grace and forgiveness was always available
• Jesus was represented by the animal
• The person was able to come to the place where forgiveness was extended, by entering the grace gate
• It was always open
• Grace is always available

What is grace

• Grace means favour, undeserved

1. grace 1a) that which affords joy, pleasure, delight, sweetness, charm, loveliness: grace of speech
2. 2) good will, loving-kindness, favour 2a) of the merciful kindness by which God, exerting his holy influence upon souls, turns them to Christ, keeps, strengthens, increases them in Christian faith, knowledge, affection, and kindles them to the exercise of the Christian virtues
3. 3) what is due to grace 3a) the spiritual condition of one governed by the power of divine grace 3b) the token or proof of grace, benefit 3b1) a gift of grace 3b2) benefit, bounty 4) thanks, (for benefits, services, favours), recompense, reward

Grace is undeserved

• Grace is God’s favour on us, his desire to show goodwill to us, love us, and show us mercy
• It starts with God sovereignly wanting to not leave us in our wretched condition, but he draws us to him, he turns our hearts to Jesus
• This grace develops us in our Christian faith continually.
• It is the expression of God’s favor on us, his goodwill towards us.
• This grace continues to work in our hearts, to keep us close, to strengthen us, to draw us close to him
• If we want closeness and intimacy with God, we must understand grace

But do we live in grace?

• So often we come to Jesus, hungry, thirsty, dirty, and we ask for forgiveness
• We know we need grace, and we ask God for his free pardon for our sins
• We become a new creation
• But so often we then pick up the controls of our life
• We think that by our prayer and Bible study we will become a better person
• We think that it is now up to us to live a clean life, and get our life straight
• The truth is that God is the one who is doing this work in us
• This is grace
• Grace is lived out in allowing God to do his work in us
• Eph 2:8-10

The grace gate is open

• God has made access to grace available to us, not just when we accepted Jesus, but every day
• Daily we can come into his presence
• Heb 4:16
• Each day we can come before God and receive grace in time of n3eed
• I need God to clean me up, not myself
• My own righteousness will not cut it.
• The gate is open
• The entrance to God’s throne room is available for us to go through
• We are not unworthy, because God has made us worthy
• We can approach him, cleansed of sin
• But it all starts with approaching that gate, that entrance, and allowing him to take our sins upon him
• Is this a day when you need grace?
• Grace is available, without price, freely given as a sign of God’s favour
• The altar is open, if any would want to come forward
• We will close with a praise song – "Only by grace will we enter"

Step by Step …!
April 15, 2012
Mark 4:28

Introduction
-         It was 2000 years ago when Jesus our Savior cried out, “It is finished!”
-         When Jesus cried this out, it was not because his suffering was at last complete
-         No, it was because the work that he had been sent to do was complete
-         So what was the work that Jesus was sent to do?
-         Was it only to heal the sick and bring wholeness to the mentally afflicted?
-         No, the task he had been set was to reconcile man with God, and restore a right relationship between man and God
-         2 Cor 5:18-19 “And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.”
-         In doing this, the way was made open for man to come into God’s presence
-         The whole purpose in man’s existence is to live in relationship with God, being obedient to Him, and to live in His presence for all eternity
-         Personally, I long for a closer, deeper walk with Jesus
-         I hunger for it and am actively seeking it
-         In the next weeks we are going to journey towards God’s presence
-         We will be talking about it in church, and I want to ask you to join me as we develop a closer walk with God!

A journey
-         As we read through the Bible, we see time after time, how God worked with people over a period of time
-         A major example is the Israelites leaving Egypt – God didn’t take them the short way, he took them through the windy dusty roads of the wilderness.
-         It wasn’t his choice that they spend 40 years there, it was their own rebellion that led to that punishment
-         But by the same token, he also did not take them the short way, along the road that went straight from Egypt to Palestine
-         David went through all kinds of hardships and experiences before he finally sat on the throne, for which he had been anointed around 20 years before
-         There is a principle here – God wants to develop character in us
-         This takes time
-         So we are on a journey with God
-         Mark 4:26-29 – first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head
-         2 Cor 3:18 – from glory to glory
-         Our development as Christians is a process

How we got to where we are
-         Did you know that our natural state is to be in close relationship with God?
-         In the events of the garden of Eden, it is clear that God fellowshipped with Adam and Eve, he spent time with them
-         Gen 3:8 – God walked in the garden in the cool of the day, and he called to Adam – where are you?
-         1 John 4:19 – we love because he first loved us
-         God initiated this relationship with mankind
-         Man was created to have communion with God
-         Of course, we know the story, that man sinned and so became cut off from God
-         Isa 59:2 – your iniquities have separated you from your God
-         Man actually hid from God
-         But this was not just Adam and Eve
-         It has been repeated time and time again in our lives too
-         We pull away from God and as a consequence we live at a distance from God
-         Jesus made it possible for us to be reconciled to God
-         There is a route to follow, a road to tread
-         Many have walked this road before us, and it lies ready for us to walk upon, step by step


The way back to intimacy
-         God provided us a vehicle for understanding how to regain the intimacy that God has intended for us
-         That vehicle is the structure of the tabernacle in the Old Testament
-         So much of what happened there is symbolic of and teaches about our relationship with Jesus.
-         As the priests, worked in the tabernacle, there would be a progression, from the entrance to the tabernacle area, to the altar of burnt offering, representing Jesus, the Lamb who was slain
-         There is the laver, a basin of water, where the priests would be cleansed, as we are by the blood of the Lamb
-         There is the table of shewbread, representing Jesus the bread of life
-         There was the candlestick representing Jesus, the light of the world, and the oil representing the Holy Spirit
-         There was the altar of incense where our prayers are presented before God on a continual basis
-         And finally there is the veil which was torn in two at the moment of Jesus’ death, telling us that we now have full and complete access to the Father, through Jesus’ death and our justification

Conclusion
-         This coming week, I want to encourage us all to devote time in prayer, as we commence this journey together
-         I know most of us have accepted Jesus into our lives, and we are saved
-         But if you want to go deeper with God, go on this journey with me
-         Don’t allow past problems and difficulties hamper you in your quest
-         Lay these things aside, as Paul tells us in Hebrews 12:2 – let us throw off everything that hinders, and the sin that so easily entangles … Let us fix our eyes on Jesus.
-         If we have not been praying, ask for forgiveness and start over
-         If we have been praying, keep it up, and ask the Lord how you can grow in this area of your life
And next time we will commence this journey toward the presence of God

He's Alive! - Matthew 28:6

He’s Alive!

April 8, 2012
Matthew 28:6

Introduction

• On Friday we commemorated the Crucifixion of Jesus
• God had planned this event from the creation of the world
• Jesus is described in Revelation as the Lamb slain from the creation of the world (Rev 13:8)
• In old testament times, this Jesus was symbolized by the Passover lamb which was killed around Easter time, reminding the Israelites of their release from captivity in Egypt
• In the same way, by Jesus’ death, we have been released from captivity to sin and death
• John 3:16 - For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life
• But a dead Saviour cannot give us life
• He has to be raised from the dead, otherwise we have no hope
• In the 1668, an Italian scientist called Francesco Redi, established in a controlled experiment that life can only come from life
• A dead Jesus cannot give us life
• And yet Jesus is described as the one who brings life (John 1:4 – in Him was life, and that life was the light of men)

Resurrection Day events

• There is an earthquake and an angel rolls the stone away from the tomb entrance, and sits on the stone
• Mary Magdalene, Mary Jesus’ mother, and Salome go to the tomb and see that the stone has been removed
• Mary Magdalene runs back in a panic, thinking the body has been stolen (John 20:1-2)
• The other two women enter the tomb and see an angel who tells the Jesus has risen. (Mark 16:4-8, Matt 28:5-7)
• Peter and John run to the tomb after Mary Magdalene’s report, see the empty grave clothes, and believe Jesus has risen from the dead (John 20:3-9)
• Mary Magdalene has returned to the tomb, and Jesus appears to her, and tells her to tell the others that Jesus is alive and returning to his Father and our Father, his God and our God. Mary is not allowed to worship him because he has not yet returned to the Father (John 20:10-18)
• Later that day, Jesus appears to the disciples on the road to Emmaus
• That evening, the disciples were together with the doors locked, and Jesus appears in their midst. He tells them, peace be with you, and shows them his hands and side to prove it is himself. He commissions them to do the same task the Father had entrusted to him, and he breathes into them the Holy Spirit (John 20:19-22)

Jesus gives life

• So we read that Jesus was resurrected
• If Jesus was not resurrected, our sins are not forgiven (1 Cor 15:16-19)
• John 10:10 – I am come that they may have life, and have it to the full
• It is crucial that we know that Jesus was resurrected
• This is why the angels spoke to the women
• This is why Jesus appeared to Mary, then the disciples on the way to Emmaus
• This is why he appeared to Peter (Luke 24:34)
• This is why Jesus appeared to the apostles, and gave them the Holy Spirit
• It is the Spirit that gives life
• John 6:63 It is the spirit that quickens; the flesh profits nothing
• We need a Savior who is alive, who has the power to make a difference, the power to give us eternal life

How do we know that Jesus was resurrected?

• Jesus appeared to the disciples as we said
• He appeared to them not only on that day but many times after that, up until his ascension
• Paul tells us that over 500 church members saw Jesus after his resurrection, and that most of them were still alive at around 50 AD when he wrote this letter to the Corinthians
• The apostles staked their lives on the resurrection
• 11 of the 12 apostles were martyred for their faith – look up Foxes Book of Martyrs
• Today, Jesus still shows us he is alive
• We pray to him and receive answers
• Do we have any testimonies here, of sicknesses that were healed, of lives that have been changed?
• My own testimony is that Jesus has completely changed my life
• I grew up in the midst of abuse. Our home was filled with terror and pain and hurt. I felt totally inferior and inadequate.
• I did not think that God could do anything with my life
• But Jesus healed me from my abuse, he healed me from my depression, he took away the fear of man and gave me a boldness to preach the gospel
• Frankie was healed – she had been told her medical condition meant she could never have a baby. Jesus healed her and she is now the proud mother of Lilly Ann
• John went to the hospital and had a 75% blockage of his aorta
• When he went back, it had disappeared. Jesus stepped in!
• Another person had a black spot on his x-ray
• After prayer he went for surgery and the spot had disappeared. Jesus is our healer
• But more than physical healings, Jesus changes lives
• What things have happened in your life to let you know Jesus is alive today?

Testimonies …

Conclusion

• Jesus is alive
• He is alive today
• And he wants to make each one of us alive!
• He was the lamb who died so that we would no longer live in sin, but our sins could be forgiven and we would be white as snow
• This is why we take communion on Resurrection Sunday
• Jesus lives today, and he has given us life!

Our Friend, the King! - Mark 11:1-11

Our friend, the King!
April 1, 2012
Mark 11:1-11

Introduction

• It was 30/31 AD
• Jesus had come down the Jordan Valley, and then started the climb up to Jerusalem
• Jesus passed through Jericho, and reached Bethany
• In Bethany he stayed with his friends Lazarus, Mary and Martha
• He was known there as the One who raised Lazarus from the dead
• Then he prepared to ascend the east side of the Mount of Olives
• At this time something extraordinary happened
• Mark 11:1-11

Friendship

• For 3 ½ years Jesus had been with the disciples
• They were with Rabbi Jesus
• The great Rabbi who put the Pharisees in their place
• He had taught them, prayed with them, trained them
• He had become really close with them, closer than we may picture
• Some of the disciples were more close than others
• Peter, James and John were like an inner circle, they were closer to Jesus, and he later used them greatly in starting the church
• John himself became known as the disciple Jesus loved
• They were really close to him

God makes himself approachable

• This was a time when God was intervening in world affairs in a huge way
• Mankind had chosen to rebel and sin and follow the enemy’s ways
• You would think God would give up, allow man to destroy himself and start up with plan B
• But he didn’t
• He was not taken by surprise
• He had planned from the beginning, that he would make himself approachable, and become a human being, without losing his divinity
• And so God became flesh
• Jesus was with the disciples, they were of first name terms
• God showed them he cared
• He cared about the disciples
• He cared about the homeless and the prostitutes and the criminals
• He cared about publicans and sinners
• Because he wanted them to have a chance to get it right
• Mark 2:17
• Jesus offers us this closeness with Him
• John 15:12-17

Yet He is a King

• It is awesome that we have Jesus as our friend
• And yet, Jesus is more than a friend
• He is none less than the ruler of the universe
• He is our King
• When we accepted him into our life as our Lord and Savior, we placed Him on the throne of our life
• We recognized that by ourselves we cannot get it right
• We needed someone bigger and stronger than us, to help us
• That is why God became our friend, a fellow human being, in the form of Jesus
• Jesus is our king
• He now sits on the throne of the universe, and he offers us life instead of death, he offers us blessing instead of curses, he offers us an eternity of fulfillment
• As Jesus ascends the Mount of Olives, and as he enters Jerusalem, the crowds are calling out “Hosanna, hosanna in the highest!”
• These are not the same people who a week later would cry out “Crucify him!” These were friends of Lazarus who had been resurrected
• Bartimaus was in this crowed. Lazarus was probably there too
• These had seen the power of God displayed and they acknowledged Jesus as King

Will we acknowledge Jesus as king?

• Often we are comfortable with the idea of Jesus as our friend
• But when it comes to obedience and following his will, we sometimes draw away from him
• Yet Jesus came as our King as well as our friend
• We should treat him with the respect he deserves

Conclusion

• The story of Palm Sunday is a story of obedience
• It is a story of treating our King as the one who we follow
• Not deciding, I want to obey now, but that thing yesterday, no I did not want to be obedient in that
• Jesus came as our friend but we also revere him as our King