June 9, 2019
Evening Service

This message is something I have had on my heart for awhile now, but didn’t really know it was a message to share. I have felt the Lord speaking to me personally about the Redemption of my soul back to God our Father. This has led me to think of how we Christians as a group of people (the body of Christ Jesus) have the same characteristic of being redeemed souls. Simply put, we are sinners saved by God’s Grace and this makes us the recipient of redemption. Merriam Webster defines redemption as being the act, process, or an instance of redeeming. This type of  definition is one which requires another definition for the base word and that is redeem, this is defined as 1a: to buy back : repurchase  b: to get or win back  2: to free from what distresses or harms: such as  a: to free from captivity by payment of ransom  b: to extricate from or help to overcome

something detrimental  c: to release from blame or debt : Clear  d: to free from the consequences of sin  3: to change for the better : Reform  4: Repair, Restore  5a: to free from a lien by payment of an amount secured thereby  b(1): to remove the obligation of, by payment the U.S. Treasury redeems savings bonds on demand  (2): to exchange for something of value, redeem trading stamps  c: to make good : Fulfill  6a: to atone for : Expiate redeem an error  b(1): to offset the bad effect of  (2): to make worthwhile : Retrieve.  All of these ways to describe redeem is why Jesus was obedient to do the Will of His Father in Heaven and that was to die in our place for our sins and bring us back to the Father in Heaven for which we could not be able to do from our works, thoughts, or deeds. These things from humans have no value to God our Father and are thought of as unclean and cannot be regarded to have any value.

Isaiah 64:6  But we are all like an unclean thing, And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags; We all fade as a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, Have taken us away.

This need for redemption goes all the way back to the moment when God first made man and gave man a very powerful ability to choose for himself and with those choices came corresponding consequences. From the very beginning of man in the Garden of Eden, the consequences were being made for mankind at that moment. It was as if the choices made by Adam in the Garden were going to cascade through the human race all the way to our present age. Adam was given the choice to obey God but he did not and because of it, sin entered into man forever more. Also death entered into man at that point and we would die in our sins if we did not choose to believe in Christ Jesus as the Son of God sent to be our Redeemer. So this very beginning with Adam and Eve in the Garden is why we are separated from God and need a Redeemer that is righteous in the eyes of the Lord.

Isaiah 59:2  But your iniquities have separated you from your God; And your sins have hidden His face from you, So that He will not hear. 

Billy Graham said this very eloquently in one of his messages on being separated from God. He said it was like standing on the shores of California and trying to use a ladder to bridge the gap to Hawaii! This of course cannot be done because of the great expanse between the two, it just cannot be bridged by any human effort or invention, the separation is too vast and the bridge is too short. This is because of the sin of Adam, but also because of the sin of ourselves, once the sin was first committed it was like from that point it became a part of the human spiritual DNA to sin, we are sinful creatures and have no worthy righteousness of our own. Therefore, since we do not have any means by which we can bridge the gap between our Father and ourselves on our own accord, we must have a Redeemer to make the bridge for us. We were created in the likeness of God our Creator and in a single moment of decision in the Garden, man distorted our image of God when the choice to not be obedient was made. Our fellowship as God intended was then destroyed and our image of God when we were created was marred because of our choice to sin.

Romans 3:23  for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 

Romans 6:23  For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. 

These two verses tell us very clearly that the problem of separation between us and God is not just Adam’s problem, but a serious problem for every human being since Adam was first created. It has been said that Americans today have a sense of spirituality about them that is not very reflective of being a Christian. Our culture today seems to be aware of the need to address the problem of separation from God our Father, but we are hesitant about taking the solution offered by Jesus. So what we see instead of taking the Christian path Jesus offers, we tend to borrow from everywhere in all beliefs to tailor a religion that suits our needs and our tastes. It is like there is a buffet of religions out there that nurture all sorts of human natures to suit everyone according to the desires of the human flesh and all they do is further separate us from God. There is a remedy that does bridge the expanse between us and God and it was provided by God through His Son Jesus. Jesus paid the debt we could not pay, He did it out of love for us that is beyond our human understanding. Any attempt by man to bridge this gap or separation is a futile effort. The bible tells us that we simply cannot do it through our means by anything we know or gain in this world, we have nothing that our Father in Heaven needs from His creation that is worthy of God’s glory. Sensibly, how can we offer anything to God who created everything?

Proverbs 14:12  There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death. 

So if we visit a therapist to help us become well adjusted, we just become well adjusted sinners. If we attend a health spa to help us become healthy and physically fit, we are just healthy sinners. If we attain worldly goods and wealth of enormous value, we just become wealthy sinners. If we decide to join a church and turn over a new leaf on life, we just become a religious sinner. However, if we decide to repent of our sins and go to the cross of Jesus on Calvary for help, we become forgiven sinners and this is the only way to bridge the gap of separation between us and God the Father. So the choice is ours given by God Himself when he first created us to have a free will, to choose to remain separated from God or to be redeemed by God. The way of eternal life is freely given and cannot be purchased or bartered, it can only be taken with a humble heart to repent and be forgiven by the blood of Jesus shed on the cross for our sins. This atonement is the only plan that will truly work for reaching the realm of our Father in Heaven and live with Jesus our Savior forever more. The Holy Spirit is within us to help us daily in our walk with the Lord. We must quiet ourselves and listen to the Spirit to become what the Lord wants us to be. It requires us reading our Bibles and placing the Holy Scriptures in our hearts to prepare us for anything for which this world may try to tear us down. We must be still and know that He is God! Until we can realize truly we are only sinners saved by God’s Grace, we can never fully understand the promises of God or the peace that will pass all understanding in this life. Jesus will come again to receive us into Heaven before His Father and ours, the Bible says in Luke…..

Luke 21:27  Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 

Luke 21:28  Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near." 

We have hope in a Lord and Savior who loves us so much He died for us that we might live again. Jesus was fully aware that the only way man would be able to enter the Kingdom of Heaven would be through His blood on the cross shed for our sins. Jesus has victory over sin, the grave, and death and reigns in Heaven with our Father waiting for the time of His coming when our Father says it is time.

Matthew 24:36  "But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only.

Mark 13:32  "But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 

John 15:13  Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends. 

Christians, we must share with the world the love Jesus has shown for us through His death, burial, and resurrection. Jesus would have given His life for us alone, but the intent was that no one should perish! My sin is what put Jesus on the cross and I have an obligation to help others to believe in Him and show them the way to Truth and eternal life. It is the Good News of Jesus that makes this world we live in bearable because we are not bound eternally to this world, but to Heaven above and a Home with our Lord after this life is over. Our main duty as Christians is to lead others to Jesus as the Lord sees fit to put them in our path and to live a life pleasing to the Lord that makes others want to share in God’s love. When we help those in need, we should keep to the basics, believe Jesus is the Son of God sent to us to redeem us from our sins, know that he died and rose again to be our Lord and Savior. Make sure they know to confess their sins to the Lord and ask for forgiveness through Jesus’ blood. To confess with their mouths that Jesus is Lord and He is alive in Heaven. To be baptized in the name of The Father, The Son Jesus, and The Holy Spirit. All other knowledge of the scriptures and God’s love will be known to them as the Lord sees fit and as the Christian grows and matures in Christ Jesus. 

 

Lord help us to humble ourselves, always remembering we are not better than anyone, we are only forgiven sinners and our redemption is because of Jesus on the cross and not of ourselves!