WHY DID JESUS DIE FOR YOU?

 Why did Jesus die for us?

• Because he loves us.

...but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8 (ESV) 

But why could he not love us without having to die?

In the beginning of God's creation there was only life and no death.

God is eternal. He created the first man and woman in His own image, immortal like Himself.

So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. Genesis 1:27 (ESV) 

But human immortality was a gift of God and this gift was not completely unconditional. 

• God also gave men and women the gift of free choice, the ability to decide, for God or against God, for life or death.

And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, 

but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” Gen 2:16-17

Adam’s obedience meant trust and friendship with God but his disobedience would mean that he turned away from God. 

• God is the only source of life. 
• Turning away from the eternal God means eternal death.

• If we reject the giver and source of life, we reject life itself. 
• But God’s gift of immortality remains in part. If we reject the only source of life, life after death is a lonely, dark existence without God.

If you look for life apart from God, in the end there is only disappointment and endless loneliness. Other sources of life are like mirages in the desert, illusions which never provide the promised water of life.

What is sin? Mistrust and turning away from God.

Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit and suddenly everything was different. They experienced shame and were afraid of God. They still believed in God but they were afraid to come near to Him as friends.

• That reminds me of many manifestations of religion, including Christian religion.

• But it was not God’s original intention to create men and women living in shame, guilt and religious intimidation.

In the beginning Adam and Eve were naked and without shame. This freedom is the opposite of traditional religion.

God is not the hard, religious judge portrayed by much preaching but He remains holy and just.

• Sin must be punished. 

If you don’t like that idea, would you like to sit next to a Hitler or Stalin in heaven?

....the soul who sins shall die. Ezekiel 18:4 (ESV) 

• We all sin. If you are not sure about that, can you say that your life measures up to the standard of goodness that Jesus showed us in His life on earth?

But God loved us so much, that He did not want to let us suffer everlasting death. He wanted to bless us in spite of our mistrust and rejection of His love. He wanted to adopt us as His sons and daughters.

• God found a way to save us from everlasting darkness without letting evil go unpunished.

God gave His own eternal son. He sent Him to be born and to live a perfect human life, to show us what God is like, full of love and goodness.

• Then Jesus offered up His perfect human life and took OUR punishment upon Himself.

...but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8 (ESV) 

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16 (ESV) 

When you believe in Jesus and put your life completely in His loving hands, God immediately begins to restore everything in your life which you have lost because of sin.

• Adam and Eve suffered no sickness or poverty.

• They were never depressed and could always think clearly.
• They could live in God’s presence in complete happiness as His children and friends.
• God wants to restore all of that to you.

Now you can chose to believe.

Will you now decide to receive His perfect love?

WHY IS THE WORLD A TERRIBLE MESS?

Everywhere we look, we see animals hunting and killing animals, animals and plants dying of disease and dehydration, plagues and famines killing men, women and children.

Did God create the world like this? NO.

Then God said, “Let the earth produce every sort of animal, each producing offspring of the same kind ... And God saw that it was good. Genesis 1:24-25 (NLT)

The Bible gives us a little glimpse of the animal world as God planned it.

In that day the wolf and the lamb will live together; the leopard will lie down with the baby goat. The calf and the yearling will be safe with the lion, and a little child will lead them all. Isaiah 11:6 (NLT) 

• God put Adam and Eve in charge of a world of animals at peace. There was no killing and no death, not even among animals.

• Adam and Eve were appointed to be the governors of a planet full of peace and life but when they chose to believe in evil, death entered the world, just as God had warned them.

...but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die." Genesis 2:17 (NIV) 

The devil appeared to Eve as a snake. Did Satan possess a natural created snake or did Satan make himself to appear as a snake? We don’t know.

God is not responsible for the suffering and death around us. 

• We have all followed the example of Adam and Eve by believing the lies of darkness and mistrusting God. 

• We have cursed the earth by our willful blindness. 

But God had an amazing plan to restore all things. 

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16 (NIV)

It was man who brought death into the world and messed up God’s creation but God was not taken by surprise. He saw it all coming because the future is an open book to His all seeing eye.

Even before Adam and Eve went astray, God planned that He Himself would come to earth as a man. 

• What a man destroyed, a man would restore, the perfect Son of God, Jesus Christ of Nazareth, the promised Messiah of Israel.

For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man.

• For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. 1 Corinthians 15:21-22 (NIV)

How can you receive the restored eternal life that Jesus offers?

How did Adam and Eve lose eternal life?

• Eve believed the lies of the devil and lost her immortality and glory.

• You and I can believe the truth of Jesus and God will restore to you what Adam and Eve lost. 

But Eve did not just believe a lie; she acted on it.You must believe the truth of Jesus and act on it. 

• Ask Jesus to forgive your sins and commit your life to trusting and obeying Him. He is the one who created you and truly loves you.

I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. Romans 8:18-19 (NIV)

• When you decide to stop believing the lies of darkness and live by the truth of God, you become a son or daughter of the Most High God, the Heavenly Father. 

• Suffering does not disappear but one day you and I will live in God’s perfectly restored heavenly new creation.

For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, 

• in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God. Romans 8:20-21 (NIV)

BLESSING IS SO POWERFUL

Human history did not begin with a political leader or the work of a great genius.

...God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; MALE and FEMALE he created THEM.

• And God blessed THEM...Genesis 1:27-28 (ESV) 

History began with a happy couple blessed by God. 

Human life is not all about the dominance of great men, great kings or great preachers. 

The essence of human life is friendship and partnership.

• Man and woman, husband and wife, brother and sister are called to be friends and partners with each other.

• Not only that. You and I are created to be friends and partners with God in ruling the world.

WHAT IS RULING THE WORLD? 

• BLESSING, FRUITFULNESS AND LOVING SERVICE, NOT DOMINATION OF OTHER PEOPLE.

Then God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and multiply... (physically and spiritually). Genesis 1:28 (NLT)

• Jesus called them together and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Matthew 20:25 (NIV) 

Throughout human history, men have dominated women and stronger men have dominated weaker men. 

IS GOD AGAINST LEADERSHIP?

By no means.

• Jesus taught a completely different concept of leadership, an idea that goes right back to God’s original blessing before Adam and Eve believed the lies of the devil.

But among you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant... Matthew 20:26 (NLT)

Now we need to carefully consider what this means. 

• There are mothers and fathers who work like slaves for their children but in return, they demand total obedience to their own ideas. 
• The children can never discover the meaning of freedom. 

I once read the story of a middle aged man who killed himself and left a suicide note. 

He was a farmer’s son who faithfully served his father,

• but could not even buy a garden tool for the farm without his father’s permission. 

• He chose to end his life rather than continue to live as a slave.

Sadly there are government officials, business managers, teachers and even pastors who rule over people like this. 

• They work harder than those under them and in return, they demand complete control over everything and everybody.

What does the Bible say?

We must not rebel and start a fight against a bullying leader. The Bible tells us to respect authority. 

• But does that mean we must remain unquestioning slaves?

David served King Saul, even when Saul came under the control of dark spirits but there came a time when David had to claim his freedom.

• When Saul tried to kill David, the young man fled for his life. 

When a leader imprisons you with control, you have God’s permission to leave. 

• Some people leave too quickly but others stay too long.

The Apostle Paul told the Christians in Galatia not to submit to self appointed church leaders who wanted to control them with man made rules.

Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage. Galatians 5:1 (NKJV)

After Paul planted a church in Corinth, bossy preachers came in and took over.

• How did Paul tell the Christians to respond? DON’T SUBMIT TO THEM!

After all, you think you are so wise, but you enjoy putting up with fools!

• You put up with it when someone enslaves you, 
• takes everything you have, takes advantage of you, 
• takes control of everything, and slaps you in the face. 2 Corinthians 11:19-20 (NLT)  

Paul has one word to describe bossy and controlling church leaders: FOOLS.

Bossy leaders can only control your life if you allow them to.

You must resist bossy leadership but be careful how you react.

• Don’t start a fight ... 
• ...but also don't run from necessary confrontation.
• Don’t set up your own ministry with a vengeful or competitive attitude 
• ... but don't bury your gift if you are called to pioneer a new ministry.

Bless those who persecute you. Don’t curse them; pray that God will bless them. Romans 12:14 (NLT) 

Blessing is not weak. It has the power of God’s original creation.

Death and life are in the power of the tongue, And those who love it will eat its fruit. Proverbs 18:21 (NKJV) 

IS GOD HUMBLE?

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 1 Corinthians 13:4 (NIV) 

Clearly Jesus lived a humble life on earth. 

He lived in glory as God the Son in heaven with the Father. 

• He never had a beginning. 

• He was uncreated and equal with the Father yet He chose to be born in a stable surrounded by farm animal. 

• He chose to work as a village carpenter and He chose to associate with people rejected by the elite of society.

Was Jesus humble because he was a man who needed to be humble in submission to God? 

• ...or was Jesus humble because humility is an essential aspect of the eternal nature of God?

There is some theology that emphasises the kingly honour and authority of God to such an extent, that it is difficult to see humility as an essential part of God’s heavenly character.

This theology emphasises the sovereignty and authority of God more than His love and compassion, yet John, the especially beloved apostle, tells us that “God IS love.”

• Some theology tells us that God seeks His own honour more than He loves men and women. 

It is clear in the Bible that God DOES seek to glorify His name, so how can this God seek His own glory and still be humble?

• The New Testament reveals that God is Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

• The Son seeks to glorify the Father and the Holy Spirit.

By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me. John 5:30 (NIV) "I am not possessed by a demon," said Jesus, 

• "BUT I HONOUR MY FATHER AND YOU DISHONOUR ME. 
• I AM NOT SEEKING GLORY FOR MYSELF; BUT THERE IS ONE WHO SEEKS IT, AND HE IS THE JUDGE." John 8:49-50 (NIV) 

Jesus the Son seeks to honour the Father and the Father honours the Son. 

Paul teaches the Roman Christians to humble themselves by honouring one another in love.

Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honour one another above yourselves. Romans 12:10 (NIV) 

Jesus demonstrates that God Himself is like that. The Son and the Father are devoted to one another in love, seeking to honour each other.

The Holy Spirit reveals Jesus to us and seeks to honour Jesus above himself, although the Holy Spirit is also God, in no way inferior to the Father or the Son.

• So as we reverently and thoughtfully read the New Testament, we see that God demonstrates perfect love and humility at the same time as seeking to glorify His name.

So much theology is contaminated with abstract Greek theology. 

Behind the rigid Reformed theory of Divine Sovereignty and Glory is Saint Augustine, Bishop of Hippo, who was a disciple of Plotinus, who turned the philosophy of Plato into a mystical monotheistic religion.

• When Augustine became a Christian, he repented of his sins of the flesh but he never renounced his experience of being united with the mystical supreme deity through Platonic meditation.

I prefer the simple theology of Bill Johnson. His first principle is this: “JESUS IS PERFECT THEOLOGY.” 

Is humility an essential eternal characteristic of God?

• Firstly, humility is an attribute of LOVE.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 1 Corinthians 13:4 (NIV) 

• Secondly, GOD IS LOVE.

And the final proof is this:

John 14:6-9 (NIV) 6  Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 

7  IF YOU REALLY KNEW ME, YOU WOULD KNOW MY FATHER AS WELL. FROM NOW ON, YOU DO KNOW HIM AND HAVE SEEN HIM." 

8  Philip said, "Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us." 

9  Jesus answered: "Don't you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? 

ANYONE WHO HAS SEEN ME HAS SEEN THE FATHER. HOW CAN YOU SAY, 'SHOW US THE FATHER'? 

If Jesus is humble, the Father is also humble. Their character is the same.

IN SEARCH OF THE REAL JESUS

Supposing you never heard of Jesus and you found a New Testament. 
Suppose you read the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John for the first time. 

• What would you think of Jesus?

• What kind of person do you think you discover?

He spent three years preaching in Israel. Everywhere he went, his words had a dramatic impact, winning love and trust from some and provoking murderous hatred from religious leaders.

He spoke words of wisdom which are admired by people of all faiths.

"Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 

• For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Matthew 7:1-2 (NIV) 

So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you... Matthew 7:12 (NIV)  

Jesus did not put great value on religious hierarchies, status or position. 

"But you are not to be called 'Rabbi,' for you have only one Master and you are all brothers. 

And do not call anyone on earth 'father,' for you have one Father, and he is in heaven. Mt 23:8-9 (NIV)

He Himself was the most powerful preacher in his generation but he never sought a position for himself.

Jesus saw that they were ready to take him by force and make him their king, 

so he went higher into the mountains alone. John 6:15 (TLB) 

Jesus taught and practised humility and modesty.

(Jesus) called a little child and had him stand among them.

• And he said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 

• Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 18:2-4 (NIV)

The life of Jesus also demonstrated humility.

• He was born in a stable surrounded by farm animals. 

• He worked as a village carpenter until he was 30.

• He preached in public places and on hillsides and he was never ordained by the religious authorities.

• He provoked persecution by religious leaders because he was openly friendly with social outcasts, corrupt tax collectors and women of bad reputation.

WHAT DID THIS HUMBLE PREACHER SAY ABOUT HIMSELF?

Now the story becomes really strange.

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, 

• for I am gentle and humble in heart, 
• and you will find rest for your souls. Matthew 11:28-29 (NIV) 

• Jesus is a humble man who says he is humble. This is strange.

• Jesus is also a humble man who claims to be able to give peace to everyone who trusts him. This is really a bold claim.

What else did Jesus say?

Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. John 14:6 (NIV) 

• He claims to be divine. He claims that no one can come to God except through him.

How can a man be humble and say he is humble?How can a man be humble and say he is divine?

Then he goes further.

For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives life to whom he is pleased to give it. John 5:21 (NIV) 

• He claims to be the Son of God who has unlimited power to give life to human beings. 

Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son, John 5:22 (NIV) 

• He says he is the divine judge of all mankind.

Later he said something which made the Jews want to kill him because he was claiming to be the eternal God.

"I tell you the truth," Jesus answered, "before Abraham was born, I am!" John 8:58 (NIV)

• Either Jesus was a madman, a fraud or else he was who he said he was, GOD.

• He cannot be just a great teacher.

JESUS IS PATIENT AND KIND ..

LOVE IS PATIENT AND KIND ... 1 Corinthians 13:4
Jesus is patient and kind. No matter how long people frustrated and disappointed, He kept right on loving them.

"O you stubborn faithless people," Jesus said [to his disciples], "how long should I put up with you? ..." Luke 9:41 (TLB) 

If the twelve apostles were stubborn, perverse and faithless, I know I also disappoint and frustrate God, yet for forty years He has been leading me on in love.

Before the Passover celebration, Jesus knew that his hour had come to leave this world and return to his Father. 

• He had loved his disciples during his ministry on earth, and now he loved them to the very end. John 13:1 (NLT) 

No matter how long people abused, accused and tormented Jesus, He never stopped doing everything He could to heal their sicknesses and deliver them from demonic bondages.

And you know that God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. 

• Then Jesus went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him. Acts 10:38 (NLT) 

Why are we often busy being Christian but we sometimes lose our appreciation of the deep love of God?

One reason is that we study and discuss so many other Christian issues and Bible themes but neglect to focus on the love of God. 

• What we study, think about, talk about, preach about or pray about is what shapes our experience. 

• Even our praise and worship can sometimes focus on something other than the LOVE of God.

God IS love.

Jesus is NOT jealous if you love your wife or your children, your hobby or your job.

This is partly true because God is a JEALOUS God who hates idolatry. He hates it when something else distracts us from enjoying HIS amazing love. 

• But in His love, He wants us to enjoy being human.

God does not want you to be focussed on your faith in such a way that your cannot relate to other human beings. 

• He was very critical of the Pharisees who allowed people to give money to God instead of giving support to their aged parents.

The JEALOUSY of God is a healthy jealousy, a loving jealousy, not the kind of selfish and insecure jealousy that sometimes ruins marriages.

If you try to be holy in a churchy or religious way, you can live in a cage of religious rules.

• Been there, done that!

If you really know the love of God, you can be incredibly free.

One religious rule is that you must not enjoy worldly music. Like many religious rules, it is partly true. 

• There is some very bad music around. Before Satan rebelled against God, he was Lucifer, the chief musician amongst the angels. 

• We must be careful what we listen to but we must not be legalistic.

Paul wrote:

All things are lawful for me, but not all things are helpful; all things are lawful for me, but not all things edify. 1 Corinthians 10:23 (NKJV) 

The Holy Spirit often speaks to me by bringing some music to my mind ... and not only Christian music. 

Recently this song popped into my mind. It was a Beatles song from the 1960s but it was a love song from God to me.

“If there’s anything that you want,

If there’s anything I can do,

Just call on me and I’ll send it along

With love, from me to you.” 

Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. 

It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. 1 Corinthians 13:4-5 (NLT)

GOD LOVES YOUR HEART

God loves you, every part of you. 

You have dreams and longings deep in your heart. 

• He created your heart with all your dreams and desires and He loves your heart.

But doesn’t the Bible say:

“The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is? Jeremiah 17:9 (NLT) 

It is true that you and I were born into a spiritually and morally damaged world. 

• As we grow older, we realise how our parents are full of faults. 
• If we are honest, we can see that we are no different, wanting a better life but so often disappointing ourselves and others.

But God made your heart, your hunger for love and truth, your desire for the goodness which always seems to be beyond you.

A man in Los Angeles owned a sex shop selling pornography.
A Christian wanted to help him make peace with God but it was no use telling the man he was a sinner. 

But God gave the Christian man a revelation. 

• This man had a divine gift of comforting people. 

(He was using it the wrong way, selling people the false comfort of sexual illusions.)

When the man saw himself through the eyes of God’s creative love, something changed inside him and he received the love and forgiveness of God. 

He began a new life with Jesus that day.

God loves your heart. He knows your longings and frustrations. 
The past, present and future are like an open book to Him. He created time itself.

Before the beginning of the world He saw you and He looked into your troubled soul ages before you were born.

• He has a wonderful plan for your life. 

• Ask Jesus to come to you and transform you from the inside.

When someone becomes a Christian, he becomes a brand new person inside. He is not the same any more. A new life has begun! 2 Corinthians 5:17 (TLB) 

Many people consider themselves to be Christians but they don’t know Jesus. 

True Christianity is knowing God personally and willingly allowing Him to transform your life fromt the inside.

For God took the sinless Christ and poured into him our sins. Then, in exchange, he poured God’s goodness into us! 2 Corinthians 5:21 (TLB) 

• God wants to do all of this for you and then to take you on a wonderful journey through a new life that never ends. 

• It all starts with a supernatural personal encounter with Jesus the Son of God. 

• He is here with you now. 

• He died but He returned to life and His love now fills the universe.

“Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends. Revelation 3:20 (NLT) 

A Muslim woman in Iran was watching a Christian TV programme and she heard this message.

• She  heard a knock at her door and when she answered, she saw Jesus standing there, a glorious man in a shining white robe. 

She invited Him inside and offered Him some food. Salvation came to her life that night. 

Whether or not you see Jesus with your natural eyes makes no difference to the spiritual reality of His presence and His love for you.

When Jesus offered His life on the cross, He paid the penalty for our sins but He did not stay dead. As a real human man, Jesus sacrificed His life for us but as God He could not stay dead. 

God is eternal and His supernatural life is an unquenchable fire.

• When Jesus returned to life, He appeared to His disciples. Thomas was not with them and would not believe the story. 

Then Thomas saw Jesus and He believed.

Thomas said to him, "My Lord and my God!" Then Jesus told him, 

• "Because you have seen me, you have believed; 
• blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." John 20:28-29 (NIV)

IS SALVATION CONDITIONAL?

Christian history is full of extreme overreactions. 
Medieval Catholics lived in fear of judgement from day to day based on their variable moral and spiritual performance. 

Then came Martin Luther and declared that salvation is a free gift from God which we cannot earn. This is true.

• We access the grace and favour of God by trusting once and for all in the finished work of Jesus who paid for all our sin on the cross, once and for all time. This is also true.

But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for 

• "the just shall live by faith." Galatians 3:11 (NKJV) 

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; 

• it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. Ephesians 2:8-9 (NKJV) 

But then Luther and Calvin really overreacted and adopted an extreme opposite teaching to Catholicism.

• They said a believer once saved can never be lost.

Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. 

And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?" John 11:25-26 (NKJV) 

Yes of course all true Christians believe this. 

Eternal life is the free gift of God and eternal life means what it says.

Luther and Calvin rightly taught that we cannot earn salvation and they were right. 

• But that does not mean salvation is unconditional.

Salvation is conditional on our decision to trust in the love of God who gave His only Son to die for our sins.

• Right through the Bible, God gave free choice to men and women, to choose for Him or against Him, to trust or mistrust, to obey or disobey. 

But the LORD God warned him, “You may freely eat the fruit of every tree in the garden— except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. 

• If you eat its fruit, you are sure to die.” Genesis 2:16-17 (NLT) 

God created Adam in His own perfect likeness, with the moral character of God Himself and the free gift of eternal life but for Adam, eternal life was conditional. 

• Adam could keep or lose eternal life depending on his decision to continue trusting God. 

It is the same for us today.

Now the just shall live by faith; But if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him." Hebrews 10:38 (NKJV) 

Of course we may grieve God and still be His children. This was the true revelation of the Reformation.

• But if we keep on presuming on the mercy of God without a serious attitude of repentance, we cannot take our home in heaven for granted.

Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. Hebrews 12:14 (NIV)  

The Bible cannot be telling unsaved people to make and effort to be holy. That makes no sense at all. 

• The writer of Hebrews is telling born again believers they must be serious about living a holy life after they are saved or else they will not stay saved.

So often we can become like the church in Laodicea and there is no automatic ticket to heaven for lukewarm Christians.

I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. 

• So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth. Revelation 3:15-16 (NKJV)

Jesus cannot vomit you out of His mouth if you are not IN CHRIST to begin with.

• This is not talking about nominal believers who have never said the “Sinners’ Prayer.” 

WHEN GOD SPEAKS TO YOU ...

Jesus was God when He walked on this earth as a man but it He did not walk around as God in a human body. 

• He was God in a human soul with a human body. 

Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 

• but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. Philippians 2:5-7 (NIV) 

Jesus lived as a man who lived in intimate personal friendship with His Heavenly Father. 

So Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. 

• For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise. 

• For the Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing. And greater works than these will he show him, so that you may marvel. John 5:19-20 (ESV)

Jesus loved His disciples and taught them by His love and His example how to have a close personal relationship with God.

No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; 

but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you. John 15:15 (NKJV) 

The life that Jesus lived is our example, not just in humility, kindness and virtue but also in supernatural faith. 

• His disciples learned to live with the same kind of faith, hope and love. 

• Then they taught the early church to connect to God in the same personal way.

Simon Peter, a bond-servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours, by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ: 2 Peter 1:1 (NASB) 

Peter called himself a bond servant (or slave) of Jesus but he was also a close personal friend of Jesus. 

• It is this combination of humble devotion and personal friendship which produced the supernatural transforming power of Peter's faith.

God is inviting you and me now, to come close to Him as friends, not as equals but not as religious servants either.Religion leads us into customs and traditions, into binding duties and predictable pious habits.

The Pentecostal movement began over a hundred years ago with a powerful experience of the Holy Spirit, who released believers into amazing liberty, love and power. 

• Yet now we see so many Pentecostal churches leading believers into traditions and predictable patterns of behaviour, man following man rather than each sheep hearing the shepherd's voice.

"My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me..." John 10:27 (NASB) 

When you hear the voice of God and He hears your voice, there is a personal connection that sets you free in the Spirit and releases the power and love of God on this earth.

When Jesus resisted the temptations of Satan in the wilderness, He quoted the Hebrew Scriptures.

But He answered and said, "It is written, 'MAN SHALL NOT LIVE ON BREAD ALONE, BUT ON EVERY WORD THAT PROCEEDS OUT OF THE MOUTH OF GOD.'" Matthew 4:4 (NASB) 

Jesus loved the Scriptures and we must too. The Bible for Him was not just the Book of God although it was and is THE BOOK OF GOD.

• Jesus was also listening to THE VOICE OF GOD... to every word proceeding out of the mouth of God.

• Jesus was the greatest of all Bible teachers but He did not only teach Bible truth. He spoke what He heard from Heaven.

Jesus is inviting us to enter into the same kind of personal connection to God, where each one of us HEARS what God is saying NOW.

• When you hear what God is saying to YOU and act on what He says to you, HIS power and love is released in your life and flows through your life to others. 

• When God speaks, don’t be afraid to do what He says.

• When God speaks and gives you a message to share, don’t be afraid to speak to others.

GOD IS INTENSELY INTERESTED IN YOU

God wants nothing but the best for each person and that includes you. 

• God made you for His purposes and His purpose is always good.

...God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. Genesis 1:27 (NIV) 

God saw all that he had made, and it was very good...Genesis 1:31 (NIV) 

But Adam and Eve messed up God's plan by listening to lies and choosing the wrong way. 

You and I followed the wrong way and messed up a lot of God's plans but that did not change God's heart towards us because...

... if a person isn't loving and kind, it shows that he doesn't know God—for GOD IS LOVE. 1 John 4:8 (TLB) 

When we are not loving and kind, it does not change the character of God or the heart of God towards us.

• God is love and he made you because He loved you.

• He loved you before the creation of the world. 

• He loved you when you were conceived and when you were born,

• and He loves you now.

But what if you were conceived in the back seat of a car after your parents had too much to drink?

• That does not change the love of God for you.

What if your parents brought you up in witchcraft and you were demon possessed as a small child?

• That doesn't change God's love for you. He doesn't blame you for what was done to you.

One of the most amazing characters in the Bible was a man with a terrible past. 

• We don't know his name but when he first met Jesus, he was running around naked and cutting himself with stones. He was possessed by hundreds of devils but he still had a human soul. 

When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and fell on his knees in front of him. 

He shouted at the top of his voice, "What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? Swear to God that you won't torture me!" Mark 5:6-7 (NIV)

He was so confused, that he could not distinguish his own thoughts from the thoughts of the demons who controlled him but he responded to Jesus with faith when the demons left him.

For Jesus had said to him, "Come out of this man, you evil spirit!" 

Then Jesus asked him, "What is your name?" "My name is Legion," he replied, "for we are many." Mark 5:8-9 (NIV) 

After Jesus drove out the demons with a word of power, the man was restored to sanity and begged to be allowed to stay with Jesus.

As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed begged to go with him. Mark 5:18 (NIV) 

But Jesus did an astonishing thing.

Jesus did not let him, but said, "Go home to your family and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you." Mark 5:19 (NIV) 

But the man did far more than tell his family.

So the man started off to visit the Ten Towns of that region and began to proclaim the great things Jesus had done for him; and everyone was amazed at what he told them. Mark 5:20 (NLT) 

After Jesus healed a totally insane and demon possessed man, He immediately commissioned him to go and tell his story to a whole region. 

• He became the evangelist for ten towns.

Before this man began to preach, the people asked Jesus to leave them.

• When Jesus returned later, great crowds followed Him and many people came to faith in the Son of God.

It may be that you have also been rejected and bullied. You may have been tormented by illness, depression or even demonised by involvement in witchcraft, drugs or sexual abuse.

Whatever your story might be, you are important in God’s eyes. He wants to give you a future and a hope.

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Jeremiah 29:11 (NKJV) 

ZEALOUS FOR A CAUSE BUT DO YOU LOVE?

Daniel was thrown into the lions' den but God shut the mouth of the lions. 

• We must trust God in difficult times but passive faith is no good at all. It is useless to say: "God is in charge," because God expects us to take a stand.

But we must not love our causes more than we love people.

“But to you who are willing to listen, I say, love your enemies! Do good to those who hate you. Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who hurt you. Luke 6:27-28 (NLT) 

Jesus warned that in the dark days before His return, THE LOVE OF MANY WILL GROW COLD.

• One of the reasons is bitterness and unforgiveness, even between Christians and Christians.

• Another reason is a wrong focus, concentrating on building ministries and organisations rather than loving and knowing Jesus and hungering for more of His Spirit, more of His love, more of His presence and more of His supernatural power in our lives.

• Yet another reason is emphasising submission to church leaders rather than each believer knowing, loving and obeying Jesus for himself.

My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. John 10:27-28 (NKJV) 

• Yet another reason is lukewarmness.

I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth. Revelation 3:15-16 (NKJV) 

However, there are many Christians who are not at all lukewarm but very zealous. 

• They are zealous for Bible truth, zealous for Jesus, zealous in hating sin, zealous in promoting the Gospel, zealous to save souls, zealous for missions and zealous in preparing for the return of Jesus.

BUT, they love truth more than they love God. 

• They love biblical correctness more than they love Christians who disagree with them. 

• They love causes more than they love God or people.

• They may love Israel but if they know Jews, the Jews may not feel warm human love.

• They may hate racism but they may not make their black neighbours feel loved.

• They hate abortion but they also hate abortionists.

• Maybe you are zealous to heal the sick but do sick people feel loved when you minister to them, even if they are not healed?

GOD IS LOVE.

Their love is cold because it is not personal.

THESE ARE NOT NORMAL TIMES

We do not live in normal times. 

The American Government has partly shut down. Two weeks from now, the US government will not be able to pay its bills if the current deadlock between Democrats and Republicans is not broken quickly. 

In normal times the USA was a Christian country where Republican Party and the Democratic Party both stood for democratic freedom, Christianity, human rights, the rule of law and free market capitalism. 

• Fifty or sixty years ago, American politicians agreed more than they disagreed. They knew how to settle differences by negotiations. 

Then came the Vietnam War, the Hippie movement, the extreme youth culture, the Black Power movement, the Gay Rights movement, abortion on demand and the prohibition of prayer in schools and government institutions. 

They say that what is right is wrong and what is wrong is right; that black is white and white is black; bitter is sweet and sweet is bitter. Isaiah 5:20 (TLB) 

In ancient Persia, enemies of the Jewish Prophet Daniel made a law forbidding prayer.

But when Daniel learned that the law had been signed, he went home and knelt down as usual in his upstairs room, with its windows open toward Jerusalem. He prayed three times a day, just as he had always done, giving thanks to his God. Daniel 6:10 (NLT) 

Daniel was thrown into the lions’ den but God shut the mouth of the lions. 

We must trust God in difficult times but passive faith is no good at all. It is useless to say: “God is in charge,” because God expects us to take a stand.

PLEASE UNDERSTAND. This is a NOT a political tract for the Tea Party.

Not all of the social revolution was bad.

• Many white Christian conservatives today honour Martin Luther King. Even in Alabama, many white veterans of the Vietnam War have a healthy respect for their black American countrymen, partly because of the success of the Black Civil Rights movement and partly because of their experience of comradeship with African Americans in battle. 

Then Peter began to speak: "I now realize how true it is that God does not show favouritism but accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what is right. Acts 10:34-35 (NIV) 

The feminist revolution has also had its positive as well as its negative aspects.

• The cultural revolutions of the last fifty years were absolutely necessary to restore women and racial minorities to their proper place, not only in society but in Christian churches.

There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. Galatians 3:28 (NIV) 

Multiculturalism has also has its good and bad sides. Racism was like a cancer in North America, Europe and in the countries of the former British Empire. 

• However, when the dark spirits lurking behind Islam and other religions are given a place of honour next to or above Jesus and the God of Israel, then we know the hour of the Anti-Christ is not far away.

Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. John 14:6 (NKJV) 

Some say the Anti-Christ will enforce militant Islam and others say he will invent his own religion to seduce believers from all faiths.

• But he will reject the Good News of Jesus who died to give you and me the free gift of God’s forgiveness and eternal life. 
• He will persecute all who stand for Jesus the Jewish Messiah and the only Son of God.

The spirit of Anti-Christ is already very strong and active in the world.

• There is a false tolerance which welcomes all faiths except the Gospel of Jesus Christ. 
• There is also a dark alliance between political correctness, which claims to be tolerant, and militant Islam, which makes no attempt to respect the rights of women or of other religions.

I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel-- which is really no gospel at all. 

Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. Galatians 1:6-7 (NIV)

There is no middle way between the Way of Jesus and the popular beliefs of this world, either the secular beliefs or the so called World Religions.

But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned! Galatians 1:8 (NIV)