Almost There

I first noticed the title of this musical, Almost There.

I thought about how Jesus once told a Jewish teacher

that he was almost there

in terms of entering the kingdom of God.

It took place in the context of several Jewish leaders

basically attacking Jesus.

They were bombarding him with questions,

trying to confuse him.

Trying to make him look bad.

Well, Mark, the Gospel of Mark tells us

how a scribe, a scholarly teacher,

he was involved.

He asked Jesus a question about

what's the greatest commandment?

I want you to look with me on the screen

how Jesus answered.

Jesus answered,

the most important is,

hear, O Israel,

the Lord our God, the Lord is one.

And you shall love the Lord your God

with all your heart and with all your soul

and with all your mind and with all your strength.

The second is this,

you shall love your neighbor as yourself.

There is no other commandment greater than these.

Now, when that scribe heard the answer,

something changed.

The light came on for him.

And he responded,

not as a critic,

but as an honest seeker

who understood that Jesus had spoken truth.

Look at what he said.

And the scribe said to him,

you are right, teacher.

You have truly said that he is one

and there is no other besides him.

And to love him with all the heart

and with all the understanding

and with all the strength

and to love one's neighbor as oneself

is much more than all

whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.

He's on board with Jesus.

He understands.

Jesus is speaking words of truth,

of wisdom.

Well, Jesus took it that way.

Look at how he responded to this scribe.

And when Jesus saw that he answered wisely,

he said to him,

you are not far from the kingdom of God.

Jesus was telling him in effect,

you're almost there.

You're almost in the kingdom of God.

Now, when Jesus spoke of the kingdom of God

throughout his ministry,

he was talking about more than a future kingdom,

sort of like what we would think about heaven.

Jesus was talking about,

when he spoke about the kingdom of God,

living under the kingdom of God,

living under God's authority.

Jesus was talking about living as a follower of himself

as a person's Lord and Savior,

and living under God's authority.

When Jesus told this man that he was not far from the kingdom of God,

he was saying two things.

Look with me.

It was a word of encouragement.

Think about it.

You are not far from the kingdom of God.

You are almost there.

Why would he say that?

Well, that man believed correctly.

He believed that Jesus was speaking the truth.

He believed that God was more concerned

with us having a heart of love for him

and people

than just following a bunch of rules of a religion.

This man was almost there

because he believed the truth.

He had some right beliefs.

But almost there is not there.

He was not a part of the kingdom of God

because he was not trusting Jesus.

He was not a follower of Jesus.

I am confident

that almost everyone in this room today,

you believe what the Bible says

about Jesus coming into this world,

which is what we celebrate at Christmas.

I have no doubt

that just about everyone in this room,

you believe the Christmas story

as spelled out in Scripture.

You believe

the things that we have

been singing about

or heard sung

about Jesus.

Such beliefs,

thinking rightly

according to the truth of Scripture,

makes us

almost there

in terms of being a part of the kingdom

because you cannot

become a follower of Jesus

without knowing

who he is

and the truth about

why he came.

But

until a person

puts

their trust

in Jesus

as their own Savior

and Lord,

you remain

almost there,

not

there

in the kingdom of God.

And so that makes

what Jesus said

more than just a word

of encouragement.

It was a word

of warning.

You are not far

from the kingdom of God,

but you are not

there.

If you're not there,

you are outside

the kingdom of God.

Jesus was telling

this well-informed

teacher

that it was not enough

to just believe

correct doctrine,

right facts

about God.

It's not enough

just to say,

I believe the Bible's true.

Jesus was telling him,

it's not enough

for you to just

have a favorable

impression of me.

And that applies

to everyone.

Believing all

the right things,

the right facts

about God,

about Jesus,

about the Bible,

it is very important.

And I'm not

in any way

downplaying it.

But it's not enough

for us just to have

this intellectual knowledge,

this factual information

and be a Christian.

James tells us

that demons believe

the facts about God.

Look at this

from James chapter 2.

James 2 · chapter mention

You believe that God

is one,

you do well.

Even the demons

believe and

shudder.

They tremble.

The only way

that we can be right

with God

and a part of His kingdom,

a part of His family,

now

and forever.

It's to have our faith,

our trust,

our confidence

in Jesus

as our Savior.

And if we do that,

we'll recognize

that He really is

King Jesus,

the Lord,

and we'll submit

to Him,

to His authority

and really seek

to follow Him,

be faithful followers

of Him.

If a person

does not know God,

through a personal

relationship

with Jesus,

it doesn't matter

how close

they are.

For a person

to be

or for a person

to die

almost there,

believing a lot

of what the Bible

says.

For a person

to die

like that

almost there.

Or for a person

to believe nothing

and shake

his fist

at God,

the end result

will be the same.

They will be

eternally separated

from God

in hell.

And we all need

to let this sink in

because it applies

to us,

to our family members,

to our friends,

to everyone.

As we come together

this morning

to celebrate

the birth of Jesus,

the coming

of God's Son

into this world,

I want to encourage

you to think

about yourself,

about your relationship

with Jesus.

Make sure

that you are

now

in the kingdom

of God,

which means

that you are living

under His authority.

You are truly

following Jesus,

your Lord.

You know,

the only way

for anyone

to know

that they have

a right relationship

with God,

the only way

for anyone

to know

for a fact

that they

are a part

of the kingdom

now

is to have

that true

faith,

trust,

confidence,

commitment,

love

for Jesus.

He is the way

to the Father.

Jesus made it clear

on one occasion.

He said to him,

I am the way

and the truth

and the life.

No one comes

to the Father

except through me.

That last sentence,

no one comes

to the Father

except through me,

also can be said,

anyone can come

to the Father

through me,

through Jesus.

If you are not

a Christian,

you can come

to faith in Jesus

right now.

Admit your need

that you're not.

Turn from your sin.

Change your mind.

Put your trust

in Jesus

as your Savior.

Trust him

that when he died

on the cross,

which is why

he came into this world,

that he was dying

for you,

paying the penalty

for your sins.

If you know Christ

as your Lord

and Savior,

let this be a time

of worshiping him,

thanking him,

renewing your commitment

to him

as your king.

I also want to encourage

Christians in this room,

if you have family members,

friends,

people you work with,

people you go to school with

who are not Christians,

there is no better time

than this season,

the Christmas season,

for you to talk with them

about their relationship

with the Lord.

I encourage you

to ask God

to help you

get prepared

to share the gospel

with them

and ask him

to prepare them

and work through

your love,

your friendship,

your sharing the gospel,

the call of them,

that person you love

and care about,

the faith in Jesus.

Would you pray with me?

Father,

help all of us

in this room

being here today

to worship Jesus,

celebrate the true meaning

of Christmas.

Help us all

to think about

where we stand

in relationship

in relationship

to being

in your kingdom,

in your family.

Father,

for anyone in this room

who does not know Christ,

call them to faith

right now.

Do that miraculous work

in them right now.

Open their eyes

to see Jesus

as he really is,

your son

who died on the cross

for their sin.

Father,

help all of us

right now

to evaluate

just how faithfully

we are living

under your authority,

under King Jesus.

And if there's changes

that we need to make,

help us to make them

now.

And in an attitude

of prayer,

let's all just listen

to the Lord

and respond to him

in the way

that we need to.

I'd be happy

to pray with you

here at the front

in the next few minutes.

Let's just listen

to the Lord

prayerfully,

carefully,

and respond to him.