Sermon September 23, 2007
1 Timothy 2:4
“God desires all people to be saved”
We have seen that this world is in desperate need. Once a perfect paradise, our world and the people in it have fallen into a state of deterioration where there is much pain and suffering because of our many sins.
But we have also seen that God, the Creator of this world, dearly loves the people He has made—in spite of our many sins against Him and against one another; and that he has done EVERY THING to redeem, to buy back, to restore, to renew, to reclaim us as His People. In fact not many verses make God’s love and will more clear than one from this morning:
Paul urges us to pray for any and all people, including those in positions of authority. And then he says:
1 Timothy 2:3 This is good, and it is pleasing in
the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires all people to be saved
and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
Who wants all people to be saved and to
come to a knowledge of the truth.
This is God’s holy, and gracious will: That none would perish but have
eternal life with Him. And we will see
that God has done EVERYTHING to make this salvation possible. EVERYTHING.
The harsh reality, is that, if left in sin—the
condition of a heart bent in on itself, a heart that seeks its own needs, wants
and preservation above all other things---If left in our sins we would be lost
forever, condemned to an eternity of suffering in a place without love, without
hope, without peace, without joy—without God.
Separated from him forever in Hell.
But again---God wants this for NO person. He wants all to be spared this never-ending
misery. He wants all to enjoy life with
Him in eternal bliss and peace.
And he’s done everything to make it
possible for us.
1 Timothy 2:5 For there is one God, and there is
one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave
himself as a ransom for all,
God has provided a way out of sin. God has provided a way to beat death. God has provided a way BACK to life and hope,
peace and joy. God provided his
Son. Jesus, the God-Man---stands between
God in heaven and all of broken humanity.
Jesus took all of our brokenness, all of our sin, all of our shame on
himself and was lifted up between earth and heaven on the cross. God accepted this sacrifice—the death of
Jesus in our place! And we are
forgiven. We are set free. We are made new. As surely as Jesus came back to life again,
all who trust in Him share--even now--in the new life He brings and we are made
new.
In the face of sin, God has provided a Savior. In the face of death, God has given us life.
Because of Jesus—No one need suffer apart from God. No one need continue in their sins. His life was given for everyone. EVERYONE. There is no one whose sins are so vile that they cannot be forgiven by Jesus --so Great is his love, so amazing is his mercy.
God has truly done EVERYTHING top make eternal life possible for us:
God has provided the Savior.
God has even provided messengers to share the Good News of the Savior!
Paul tells us that it is through faith, through trust in Jesus that we are saved. And that no one can believe in, no one can trust in Jesus if they have not heard of him and what he has done for us on the cross. And that no one can hear of him unless someone speaks to them this good news. (see Romans 10:13-17)
We also know that WE have been sent to speak this good news. WE are the garden planted in the midst of a garbage heap. We are an oasis of life in the midst of a desert. There is nothing special about us—except that we have been made new by Jesus; except that He calls us. He has planted the seeds of the Gospel in our hearts and we are alive in Him.
Jesus, before ascending into heaven sent His disciples out to make disciples of all nations baptizing and teaching them. We are God’s messengers! We are the ones that God will use in this day to share the Word of Jesus so that others might hear and believe and be saved and live.
But we have two problems. One we’ll look at now. One we’ll look at next week.
First, we have a problem with ourselves. How can we, who have so many struggles, who feel so inadequate, who are so weak, how can WE possibly share this Gospel with others?
Second: (and for next week) We are being sent to people who by and large do not want anything to do with the Church or the God it claims to represent. How do we break through those kinds of obstacles? How do we earn a hearing for the Gospel among a people that understandably so, mistrust and maybe even despise the Church? That’s our question for next week.
For our last moments together today…
Before we get to the problem within us—I want to make absolutely certain that we “get” what God’s plan is.
[down in aisle—ask questions about salvation, sharing the faith etc.] ok. To use the analogy the picture we’ve been working with for the past two weeks:
WE are the garden planted in the midst of a garbage heap. We are an oasis of life in the midst of a desert. There is nothing special about us—except that we have been made new by Jesus; except that He calls us.
But here’s the problem: sometimes we don’t feel all that “garden-like.” We don’t feel like an oasis and it’s hard for us to think about, let alone act on—fulfilling our mission.
We are a broken people. Some of it due to our own sin. Some due to other people’s sin. Some due to the effects of sin in this fallen world. But behind all the nice clothes and make-up—behind even the smiles and the “I’m doing fine’s” we have a lot of hurting people. (list general hurts and struggles that are being experienced in own families and by families close to us)
Sometimes we don’t feel like a fruitful garden—we feel like the compost pile.
We don’t feel like the oasis—we feel like that parched sand.
And yet….
And yet….we carry within us an amazing power.
We carry within us the very life, the very Spirit of Jesus.
Paul says it this way:
But we have this treasure [The Gospel; The Good News of Jesus; The Life of Jesus] in jars of clay [A clay post is a fragile thing. Cracked, chipped.] to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. 8
We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in
despair; 9 persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not
destroyed. 10 We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus,
so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. (2 Corinthians 4:7-9)
Isn’t this God’s way? God provided salvation through a picture of weakness—will he not also proclaim this salvation in the midst of weakness?
This is Jesus’ way. (Look at life of Jesus—how weak, and yet how strong. His humble birth in a stable, laid in a feeding trough with a scrap of cloth to clothe him; He had “no place to lay his head” as an itinerant preacher; He was stripped of his every possession and hung on the cross after being beaten and whipped and mocked. He died a shameful death. Was there ever a picture of weakness like this? And yet. And YET! In the midst of this was the very power of God(See Romans 1:16-17) revealed; Our salvation accomplished.
This is God’s way. He makes power perfect in weakness. (See 2 Corinthians 12:9 "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.")
God can use our most desperate pain, our most difficult struggles, our biggest failures—God can use them all to proclaim His love in the very midst of it. So don’t let your own struggles stop you. Let the World know of the God that holds you in the palm of his hand even in these desperate times. Let the world know—where you find comfort and peace when life is really, really hard. Let the world know of the hope that you have even when all earthly hope seems lost. Let the world know that you know the ultimate end of the story—that even though things are terribly hard now---the Light of Jesus will one day sweep away all the darkness of sin and pain and death. Let the World know.
Let the world know Jesus.
Prayer.