INTRODUCTION
I want to tell you a secret! You have to promise not to tell anyone, O.K.? The secret is: I LOVE ICE CREAM! Not just any ice cream, not Hy Vee or Walmart or even Albertsons, but rather the greatest ice cream of all time: Baskin Robins Ice Cream. When I go to Baskin Robins, I have to get there early because if you haven’t already heard they have 31 different flavors of ice cream to choose from. However after sticking my face against the glass display case for an hour or two, I almost always stay with my favorite flavor: Jamoca Almond Fudge! When I get my favorite Ice Cream don’t give it to me in a cone, I want it in the bowl. And I don’t just want the one scoop, or even two scoops, but I want three scoops. (It will cost a little more, but don’t worry it’s well worth it!) Now my wife on the other hand, always gets Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice Cream. And while I’m sitting there that Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice cream is looking pretty good! I start thinking things like: Did I make a mistake? Did I chose the wrong Ice Cream? Would Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough be better? This morning I don’t really want to talk to you about 31 flavors of Ice Cream, but rather 31 flavors of Religion! While looking in the Council Bluffs Phone book, I noticed _____ different Churches in the Council Bluffs area. They can’t all be right can they? They can’t all be teaching the same things can they? They can’t all believe the same things can they? The answer is: OF COURSE NOT! To many times I see people who go to a church because they’ve always gone there.(It’s their favorite). Or I see people who go to a church because of the great youth group, or because of the nice new building, or because of the great worship leader or because of the dynamic preacher! This morning I want to ask you why do you come to the Eastside Christian Church? This morning I want to know what you believe? This morning I want to you to know why you believe what you believe? Now in the short time that we have together, I can’t ask each and everyone of you what you believe. But I can tell you what I believe and why I believe it! This morning I can tell why I’m standing here before you and I can show you a plan that I’ve found that could make all the difference in the world for your life! The plan that I’m talking about is the PLAN OF SALVATION!
I wish I could find a verse that told me everything that I needed to know in just one verse. However God’s plan was spread out over 66 books. It’s a plan that’s not hard to find, but it’s not all in one place. I guess what I’m trying to tell you, is that your Bibles are going to get a workout today! Well let’s go ahead and get start with the first part of this plan.
I. BELIEVE
Before you can do anything you have to believe. What do you need to believe? To put it in simple terms you have to believe the BIBLE. You have to believe that the bible is God’s inspired word to us and that His words will show us how to live. When talking about the plan of Salvation, you have to believe something else. That Jesus is the Son of God. This is where the rubber meets the road. You have to believe that God sent His one and only Son to earth, to live a perfect life, die a horrible death and that on the third day God raised Jesus from the dead. And that now Jesus sits at God’s right hand preparing a place for all who will believe in Him. The great thing about all this, is that you don’t have to take my word for it! Paul and Silas while they were in prison had the jailer that had been guarding them come up and ask them point blank “What must I do to be saved?” Do you know what their answer was? (Acts 16:31 says, They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved”) (1 Jn 5:1 says, Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God and everyone who loves the Father loves his child as well). It doesn’t say that you have to believe that Jesus was a great prophet, or that Jesus gave us good lessons to live by. But you need to believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah, the One who was to come! It’s not just enough to believe Jesus, you have to believe in Jesus, trusting Him as your all in all!
II. REPENT
(Acts 3:19 says, Repent then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come). But, what does it mean to repent? Having true repentance isn’t simply saying your sorry! (That’s a part of it!) Listen to what Ezekiel has to say about what true repentance means (Eze 18:30-32 says, Therefore, O house of Israel, I will judge you, each one according to his ways, declares the Sovereign Lord. Repent! Turn away from all of your offenses; then sin will not be your downfall. Rid yourselves of all the offenses you have committed, and get a new heart and a new spirit. Why will you die, O house of Israel? For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign Lord. Repent and live!) What does it mean to repent? It means getting rid of all your offenses, it means turning to God, it means getting a new heart and a new spirit! In short true repentance means life! I don’t know about you, but if it were up to me, this would be the end, because I have enough to deal with in these first two points, but it’s not up to me so we’ll go on.
III CONFESS
(Rom 10:9-11 says, That if you confess with your mouth Jesus is Lord; and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified and it is with your mouth that you confess and our saved. As the Scripture says, anyone who trusts in Him will never be put to shame.) Is this confession only a one time deal? I know when we becomes Christians we confess with our statement of faith: “I believe that Jesus is the Christ the Son of the living God and my personal Lord and Savior”. But I’m not so sure that it stops there. What about when your talking with your neighbors, or your co. workers, or your un saved family members. Do you confess and profess the name of Christ and what He’s done for you and through you? (Mt 10:32 says, Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven). How do we acknowledge Christ? By believing in our heart and confessing with our mouth that Jesus is Lord! Are you starting to see how this is a real plan, and how all the parts of this plan are weaved together in perfect unity?
IV. BAPTIZED
This is one thing that really gets a lot of people down. They have a lot of problems accepting this as a real part of the plan of salvation. To those people I would say, “the truth is the truth whether you believe it or not”! Baptism is mentioned in the New Testament over 80 times. This isn’t sometime that Paul or Peter just said once in some flippant way. Being baptized means putting off the old self, it means being buried with Christ and rising to walk in the newness of life! Like the other parts of the plan this one involves us giving up ourselves and being obedient to Christ! (Acts 2:38 says, Repent and be baptized everyone of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.) Why does it say that we should be baptized? Not because Jesus did it. Not for church membership. Not because it’s an outward sign for people to see. But rather for the forgiveness of sins and to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit! (Acts 2:41 says, Those who accepted his message were baptized and about three thousand were added to their number that day). This was the start of the church!
CONCLUSION
The way I like to tie this all together is by thinking about a car. You have the frame, the body, the interior, the wires all hooked up, the tires for the car, everything is ready to go. However, if you don’t have the engine the car isn’t going to run. The same is true with the Plan of Salvation. There are no short cuts, there is a plan that has been laid out, and if we follow it, we will hear the master say, “Well done good and faithful servant”. There are people who will tell you, these steps don’t matter or that some of the steps are wrong. To that I would say, “Know what you believe and why you believe it”. Because in an uncertain world, there is still absolute truth. The truth is the truth whether we believe it or not. Maybe this morning, you have seen the plan of God laid out like never before. Maybe this morning you can see that God does have a plan for you. Maybe this morning you see the need to give your life to Him and trust Jesus as your all in all. If your answer is yes to any these questions, don’t wait there is no better time, make that decision TODAY!
Let’s Pray
