Where are you?

 

COLERAINE INDEPENDENT METHODIST CHURCH

SERMON NOTES FROM SUNDAY 27 OCTOBER 2024 pm – MR BRYAN CRUISE

Genesis 3 verses 8 and 9

The first question asked by God in the Old Testament and the first question asked by man in the New Testament.  The first question asked by God in the Old Testament was “where art thou?”

A simple question – “where are you?”  There are 3 answers that we have for this question.

1.     Where are you - you are in your sin tonight

Whenever we think of a sinner we think of some especially evil immoral or wicked.  The bible says Romans 3 verse 23 “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.”  Through Adam’s act of disobedience in the Garden of Eden every human has inherited a sinful nature.  You are a sinner.  The bible says so.  It is universal.  No-one escapes it.  Adam’s sinful disobedience resulted in human sinfulness.  Like a button on a shirt, get one wrong and it affects all the other buttons.  Adams original act of disobedience affected the whole line.  Everyone is born in sin and shapen in iniquity.  As humans we have this natural inclination to sin.  Given the choice between doing God’s will or our own we naturally choose to do our own thing.  Nobody taught us how to sin.  No-one ever took their children aside and said “I am going to teach you how to lie.”  Parents go to great lengths to teach their children not to do wrong things.  Sinful behaviour comes naturally to us. The news is full of tragic examples of mankind acting sinfully.  The sin that once was shamefully committed in the back alleys is now strutting down the main street.  Sin is all around us. 1 John 1 verse 8 “If we claim to be without sin we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.”  You are a sinner tonight.  Because of your sinfulness it produces universal condemnation.  Romans 5 verse 18  “therefore as by the trespass of one resulted in the condemnation of all men.”  John 3 verse 18 “he that believeth on him is not condemned but he that believeth not is condemned already because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”  Humans are universally guilty before God and therefore stand condemned under the wrath of God.  Sin as a punishment begats death – Romans 6 verse 23 “for the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”  Because of sin death is the price that all men pay.  While the physical consequences of sin is physical death that is not the only kind of death that results from sin.  Because all sin is ultimately committed against an infinite and eternal God that means that the price to be paid for sin must also be infinite and eternal.  Because of that the penalty for sin is infinite and eternal.  What we need to be saved from is sin itself but also the punishment of sin.  That is an eternity spent in that terrible place called hell.  Revelation 20 verses 14 and 15 refer to it as the second death, that place of eternal torment.  Sin is what makes you unsaved, sin is what separates you from God, it has you on the road to hell.

2.    Where are you - you are on the road that leads to destruction

Most people assume that as long as they don’t mess up things here on earth they will go to heaven when you die.  The natural default destination of mankind is hell.  Matthew 7 verses 13 and 14 “Enter ye in at the straight gate for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leadeth to destruction and many there be which go in thereat.  Because strait is the gate and narrow is the way which leadeth unto life and few there be that find it.”  The Lord paints this picture of 2 roads to life -  broad road that leads to eternal torment or the narrow road to eternal life.  There are 2 destinations.  There is no limbo, purgatory, no middle ground, you go to one of 2 places.  Do you know what road you are on? Because if you don’t know what road you are on make sure you know for certain.  The bible says in Revelation 21 verse 8 gives a list individuals who will be found in this terrible place.  Here in Revelation it gives list of individuals, some you expect to find there, really bad guys in society.  No surprise to find them there.  Also find people we work with every day.  Idolaters, people who don’t put God first in their life,  liars.  We are all prone to lying as humanity.  Every one has lied.  White lies, innocent lies, humanity lies.  Scripture makes no qualms about it.  Abraham lied, Sarah lied, Lot lied, Isaac lied, Jacob lied.  Chapter 27 and there are still 23 chapters to go in the bible of 66 books.  Man lies.  Hell is not a place for really bad guys but people we work with, we rub shoulders with every day.  There is an escape from such a place.  If you come and put your trust in Christ, to know what it means to have life eternal.  To be free from the burden of sin.  How can that be fair you might ask?  For if I tell one lie, if I commit one sin and live 70 years as a sinner, how is it fair for me to go to hell for eternity?  Sin is committed against an infinite and eternal God.  The price for sin must be infinite and eternal.  Therefore you as finite individual you can pay price for an infinite amount of time.  Or an infinite individual can pay the price once.  For one sin you commit on earth you would have to pay the price for an infinite amount of time. Or an infinite being can pay the price once.  That is what we see in the word of God.  We see how the Lord left the realms of glory, the praise of angels, was born in Bethlehem, raised as a man, lived a perfect righteous life before God, then bore our sins on Calvary.  He did it for you.  If you think I am not talking to you but to everyone else here – I am talking especially to you.

3.    Where are you – you are here tonight

That is where you are.  There are 8.1 billion people living in the world and 1.9 million living in Northern Ireland.  God has you listening to the gospel message.  To hear again that Jesus saves.  You are here tonight. The bible tells us in Ruth 2 verse 3 that God was working behind the scenes the entire time.  “She went and came and gleaned in the field after the reapers and her hap was to light on  part of the field, belonging unto Boaz who was of the kindred of Elimelech.”  She didn’t just happen on the field of Boaz.  God’s will for her to be there.  It is God’s will that finds you here tonight, to hear God’s message once again.  God is seeking you. Will you not come to him and know your sins forgiven? Know what it means to be free in Christ.

Matthew 2 verses 1 and 2

The first question man asked by man in the New Testament – “where is he that is born king of the Jews?”  The Messiah of his people, who is the redeemer of the world, the Saviour of mankind.  Where is he – the Lord Jesus.

1.     He went to Calvary in order for you and I to be forgiven of sin and to spend a glory with the Lord.  He had to send his Son into the world to pay the price for our sin.  He sent his son to die on the cross for you.  Because of the just penalty for sin is infinite and eternal only God could pay the price.  The Son of God left the splendour of heaven, came into this world to pay the price for sin.  This man when he had offered one sacrifice for sin for ever sat down at the right hand of God.  The price has been paid.  All you have to do is repent and come in simple saving faith.  Some say “I could never have faith in God, in someone I don’t see, or in the bible, I don’t understand it.”  They have faith in what scientists say of something that happened 34 million years ago and yet have no faith in the bible for something that happened 2000 years ago.  “I could never have faith in God.”  You use faith every day in your life.  Some use the example of a chair and say “You have faith in the chair and the chair will hold you when you sit down.”  You cannot have faith in an inanimate thing.  What you have is just head knowledge.  You have faith in the man who built the chair.  Faith in his craftsmanship.  You can have head knowledge of Christ and still go to hell.  You can know he was real and existed but that is only head knowledge, you haven’t placed your faith in him.  Acts 16 verse 31 “Believe on the Lord Jesus and thou shalt be saved.”  Not in the Lord, many believe in Jesus but they have not put their faith and trust on him.  I imagine most people drove here tonight.  You had faith in every other driver that they would say on their side of the road.  Husbands, you had faith that your wife would make you a cup of tea this morning and not put poison in your tea.   Faith is something you use it every day but you have no faith in Christ - I cannot comprehend that. 

2.    Where is he?  He rose again.  The bible says he rose again the third day according to the scriptures.  The resurrection of Christ is foundational to the gospel message.  He rose again and he lives in the power of an endless life.  Christ is risen - Acts 2 verse 24 “Whom God hath raised up having loosed the pains of death because it was not possible that he should be holden of it”.  Death could not hold the Lord Jesus so he rose again the third day.  The resurrection proves God accepted his sacrifice, his atonement, the work done for us on our behalf.  Nothing more was needed to be done.  It was a sufficient sacrifice.  Jesus was the perfect sacrifice for sin.  God accepted as the true andfull complete payment for sin. John 14 verse 19 “Yet a little while and the world seeth me no more, but ye see me; because I live, ye shall live also.”  Because the Lord is alive tonight, because he has power to raise himself from the dead, he has the power to raise you from the spiritual death you are in.   He has the power to make you a new creation. It cost God nothing to create the universe, it cost God nothing to make everything in creation.  All he had to do was speak but to redeem your soul it cost him everything.  God had to send his son, his only begotten son from heaven to die for you.  It cost God more to redeem your soul than it did to create the whole world.  Mark 8 verse 36 “For what shall it profit a man if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul.” Your soul is worth more than the entire world to God. Take all the military power in the world, all the electronic power, hydro power, take all the wealth in the world - your soul is worth more than that to God.

3.    Where is he tonight?  He bids you come tonight.  Christ offers his salvation as a free gift that can be only received by faith apart from any merit or work of our own.  You cannot be saved by working your way to heaven.  You cannot be saved by any achievement.  It is a free gift received in faith.  Matthew 11 verse 28 “come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest.”  Don’t attempt to touch yourself up.  Or make yourself something other than what you really are.  Don’t think to yourself I have to make my life a little bit better or a little bit holier before I come to God.  It is God who justifies the ungodly.  The gospel will receive you into its halls, as a sinner.  Nothing else.  Don’t wait for any reformation on your own behalf.  It is God who justifies the ungodly.  Don’t think you are too wicked to be saved.  Christ receiveth sinful men.  God desires to forgive you.  Will you not turn from your sinful ways and trust in Christ for the forgiveness of sins? Receive him as Saviour.  1 John 1 verse 9 “If we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.  2 things that usually happen to me when I talk to people about the gospel, the first response is “I would become a Christian if not for such and such a person.  I see how that person lives and they are a hypocrite.”   I want to tell you on that great and terrible day when you stand before God to be judged you can’t point the finger at someone else, it wont work.  God will say “I will judge him in his own time.  I am asking you why you didn’t come and put your trust in me.”  That excuse does not work.  Others say “I don’t know whether I will get saved or not.”  Indecision is a decision in itself.  If I give you a plane ticket tonight leaving at 9 pm and you stayed in your pew, thought I don’t know whether to go or not.  The plane will leave without you.  Will you not decide to live for him, will you not say like Peter on the water “Lord save me”?