Christianview Church
May 21, 1995
Today’s the Day!
My parents became Christians when I was 17 years old and I was not happy about it. I thought their new faith had turned them into a couple of nuts, praying all the time, going to church three or four times a week, hanging out at our house with their “new” friends and laughing it up until all hours of the night, and that without any alcoholic stimulation.
For two years I fought their attempts to win me over, but my arguments against the changes in them were shallow and losing credibility in my mind the whole time.
Finally on a Tuesday night, August t 8, 1993 my girlfriend and I snuck out to a church service, behind her parents backs, and heard the gospel clearly explained for the first time.
I think you know what happened. I mean, I am here preaching to you tonight, so it seems clear that I responded positively to that evening’s presentation. What you may not realize is that I view that decision by an awkward 19 year old to be the greatest one of my life.
The life of following Christ and serving Him whole-heartedly, I am convinced, is the best way to live. Tonight, in just a few minutes, I am going to invite you to come to this alter and join me. I am going to invite you to say yes to the gospel message. It is my firm belief that by making the same decision that I did those many years ago, you too will find the joy and peace and abundant life that is available to everyone who walks with Jesus.
But first let me explain why you should!
1. God is alive.
Just open your eyes the next time you are outdoors and listen to creation call.
Romans 1:20-22
For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.
For although they knew God; they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools.
Have you looked at the glory of creation and told yourself that it was all a cosmic accident?
Take a look at that painting on the wall behind me, it is a wonderful work of art isn’t it? If I told you that that painting was the result of an explosion in the store room where our paint and cleaning supplies are kept, you would call the men with the jackets with the extra long sleeves. Order does not come out of chaos. The wonder of this creation is all the evidence we should need of a creator, just like seeing that painting is all the evidence you need that there is a painter.
The great lie is that there is no God; that this life is all there is, that you should get all you can and live for yourself and your own happiness because this is all there is baby. The lie is that you are nothing more than a highly developed ape with no soul, no eternal spirit, and no reason to live for a higher purpose.
The truth that God is alive, and that He has created you in His image! Not only that:
2. God is a good God.
Many people avoid coming to God because they wrongly assume that He is a big ogre in the sky with nothing better to do than to watch for sinners so he can strike them down and take all the fun out of life. Nothing could be further from the truth. God is a loving and caring Father, not a child abuser. You will find that there is a depth to the love of God that has the power to transform your life into what you’ve always wanted it to be.
Romans 8:37-39
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
I have heard many people say that they cannot believe in a good God because of all the horrible things that happen in the world. Famine, disease, unfathomable cruelty perpetrated by the strong on the weak.
To you I would say that we live on a fallen planet, because of man’s rebellion all of creation suffers. There is more than enough on this globe for everyone to be fed, clothed, and housed, but greed drives men to hoard far more than they will ever use in a lifetime. The gospel is in fact God’s plan to rectify these injustices.
I have heard others say that they do not come to Christ because God loves religious people like me, but condemns the everyday sinner. Again the opposite is true.
Luke 15:1-10
Now the tax collectors and "sinners" were all gathering around to hear him. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, "This man welcomes sinners and eats with them."
Then Jesus told them this parable: "Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ’Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.
"Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Does she not light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, ’Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.’ In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents."
Come to this alter tonight because God is alive.
Come to this alter tonight because God is a good and loving Father.
And come to this alter tonight because:
3. Jesus is the only way.
It may be popular today to believe that all roads lead to God and that you do not need Jesus to get into heaven, but the Bible is very clear on this issue.
John 14:6
Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
1Timothy 2:5
For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus
Acts 4:12
Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved."
Here is how it is; picture sin if you will as a disease. This disease has infected all of humanity and alienated us from the presence of God. In order to remedy this division, God sent His son to take on Himself the punishment for sin. The only way to receive the benefit is to accept the cure.
Jesus is the only cure for the sin disease.
You say you cannot believe that Jesus is the only way? If you were drowning and I threw you one of those white life preserver rings with the red letters on it, would you refuse to grab it because you like the orange kind better? Grab onto Jesus and be saved!
You say you think the whole resurrection might be hoax that the disciples used to build a following and get rich? Do you really believe that they would all have suffered and died as they did in order to perpetrate a hoax?
You say you can’t believe in a God you can’t see? Have you ever seen New York City? Have you ever seen Adolph Hitler? Have you ever seen your brain?
You say you just can’t believe in all the other stuff like the devil and hell and demons and such?
You don’t have to believe in something in order to find yourself subject to its reality. You can say you don’t believe in gravity and walk off a cliff; but you will, in your denial, crash to your death on the rocks below.
All other religions are man based. They are the attempts of humanity to find God, to reach a higher plain, to gain nirvana, to achieve a spiritual consciousness.
Christianity stands alone as the religion that is based on God’s attempt to reach man.
Come to this alter tonight because God is alive.
Come to this alter tonight because God is a good and loving Father.
Come to this alter tonight because Jesus is the only way.
And come to this alter tonight because:
4. God has a plan for your life.
Jeremiah 29:11
For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
John 10:10
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
The old song goes, “On the day that you were born the angels got togeather and decided to create a dream come true.”
Well guess what, on the day that you were born the demons got togeather too and they decided to create a nightmare on Elm Street!
If you haven’t said yes to Jesus then you are living the wrong plan. For some the destruction is fast and violent, for some it is slow and painful. Some will spend a lifetime chasing worthless money of fame or power only discover at the end that it is all meaningless.
Come and find God’s plan for your life.
Come and find forgiveness and cleansing.
Come and find peace and shelter from the storm.
Come and find freedom from all that holds you in chains of bondage.
Come and find love and acceptance from God and from His people no matter who you are or where you come from or what you have done.
Come now and say yes to Jesus just as I did on that August evening in 1983.
Come!
