A Matter of Life or Death

Who's heard of the expression, it's a matter of life or death?

Serious health issues can become a matter of life or death real quick.

! Maybe you have someone you know, someone you love in the hospital,

and you hear the word sepsis used.

Immediately, you're like, oh, this is going to be serious.

This could be a matter of life or death.

A natural disaster can become a matter of life or death,

whether it's the forest fires out west or it's blizzards out east.

Let's pretend that you come across a horrific car crash.

You're the first on the scene, and you look into one of the cars,

and you know right away this is a matter of life or death.

911, send someone quickly.

We've got a matter of life or death on our hands.

These are not trivial things. These are important things.

But our culture has a way of making trivial things into a matter of life or death,

and I'm guessing you all know what I'm talking about.

Because I've made trivial things a matter of life or death.

I don't get the respect I think I'm owed.

And what goes on in me, inside, one would think is a matter of life or death.

Is it?

Or your favorite athletic team goes to the championship game,

and as you're watching, it seems as though this is a matter of life or death.

Is it?

You have to declare bankruptcy.

Is that a matter of life or death?

You go through a divorce.

Is that a matter of life or death?

Do you know what else is a matter of life or death?

What you believe about Jesus.

Whether you trust in Jesus or not is a matter of life or death.

Hold on, you say.

Maybe you're not a Christian in the room.

You're like, Jesus is a matter of life or death?

I don't know what to think about Jesus, let alone trust in him, whatever that means.

But Pastor Mike, are you actually saying that trusting in Jesus is on the same scale as pancreatic cancer?

I know it sounds crazy, but I am.

Because Jesus does.

What you believe about Jesus is a matter of life or death.

So here's a question for you.

If we can make trivial, unimportant things into matters of life or death,

would not the opposite be also true?

That we can also trivialize the most important things.

And Jesus is the most important thing.

A couple of weeks ago, we began looking at this nighttime conversation between Jesus and this religious leader named Nicodemus.

And we're returning to that to finish off that conversation this morning.

But Jesus had thrown Nicodemus for a loop.

He was saying things, you need to be born again.

And Nicodemus was like, what?

Lights were on, but nobody was home.

Didn't get it.

And so Jesus repeatedly sets the record straight for Nicodemus of what it means to be born again.

What it means for the spirit to move and to give new life.

And in that part of the conversation, Jesus in chapter 3, verses 14 and 15 of John, he says this.

And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the son of man be lifted up.

He's talking about himself.

Jesus is clearly saying that what you believe about him, the son of man, is a matter of life or death.

Eternal life or eternal death.

So what does it mean to believe in him so that you may have eternal life?

That is why verses 16 through 21 are in your Bible.

It's Jesus himself explaining why believing in him results in eternal life.

And so we're going to look at his explanation this morning.

And what we're going to see is that Jesus explains what it means to believe in him and have eternal life in two ways.

He's first going to make the point that he is uniquely qualified to be trusted.

And then secondly, he's going to say there are two polar opposite responses to him.

So let me read for you now, John 3, 16 through 21.

You know the first verse.

For God so loved the world.

For God so loved the world that he gave his only son, his one of a kind son,

that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

For God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world,

but in order that the world might be saved through him.

Whoever believes in him, the son, whoever believes in him is not condemned,

but whoever does not believe is condemned already

because he is not believed in the name of the only son, the one of a kind son of God.

And this is the judgment.

The light has come into the world and people loved the darkness rather than the light

because their works were evil.

For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light

lest his works should be exposed.

But whoever does what is true comes to the light

so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.

May God bless the reading of his word and hearing of his word.

Now let's turn to point one.

Jesus makes that he is uniquely qualified to be trusted.

So this again is this part of his explanation that Jesus is giving of why, of how he is to be trusted

and how that leads to eternal life.

And what's interesting is he starts with himself.

He's essentially saying this is why you should trust me.

What we see here is he says he's God's only son.

One of the many interesting things about Jesus is the way he talks about himself.

And it's not unusual for Jesus to refer to himself in the third person.

He just did so in verse 14 and 15 where he talks about him being the son of man.

And so here he's talking about himself in the third person again.

For God so loved the world that he gave his only son.

I talk about myself in the third person it turns out.

My daughter, Mary, loves matcha tea.

She recently offered me some.

I took a sip and almost threw up.

And I said, Mike, no, like.

Third person.

Third person.

It gets something done.

It's emphatic.

And here Jesus is referring to himself in the third person.

His only son.

God's only son.

And he says this three times in 16, 17, and 18.

God's only son, his son, the only son of God.

And he is claiming to be God's son, which is essentially claiming to be God himself.

And here's why that little only matters.

He is one of a kind.

Now, if you're a Christian brother in the room, you might be thinking something like this.

Wait, wait.

Time out, Mike.

I thought that the moment I believed in Jesus and became a Christian, that at that moment I was adopted by God the Father,

and that I am an adopted son.

You were.

You are.

Or maybe you're a sister in Christ, and you're like, time out.

Wait, hold on.

I thought the moment I believed in Jesus that I became a daughter of the Most High God.

You did.

So why is Jesus saying he is God's only son?

Aren't we all part of the same family?

We are.

When you hear only, you need to hear one of a kind.

If you flip back in your Bible to John chapter 1, I want to help you see it.

John 1 · chapter mention

In John chapter 1, verses 1 through 18, John opens the gospel by talking about the Word.

John 1:1–18

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

He was in the beginning with God.

Verse 3, all things were made through him, the Word, and without him was not anything made that was made.

Verse 14, and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we've seen his glory.

Glory is of the only Son, the one-of-a-kind Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

In verse 17, for the law was given through Moses, grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

In other words, the Word is Jesus Christ.

No one has ever seen God, verse 18, the only God, the one-of-a-kind God, who is at the Father's side.

He has made him known.

So here's what's going on.

Here's what I want to help you see.

That Jesus, when he claims to be God's one-of-a-kind Son in chapter 3, it's being connected to what's been said about the Word in chapter 1.

So let me ask you, Christian, were you at the beginning?

In the beginning, Genesis 1-1, were you there?

You were not there.

I wasn't there, but the Word was there, who's also Jesus Christ, the Son.

Were you in the beginning with God, distinct from God, but with God?

No, no, none of us were in the beginning with God, distinct from, but no, no, no.

Were you God?

Are you God?

No!

None of us are.

Did you, were you the Word that became flesh and dwelt among us,

and we beheld his glory, glory as of the one-of-a-kind Son from the Father,

full of steadfast love and faithfulness?

Were you that?

Are you that?

No.

Are you the one-of-a-kind God who's at the Father's side,

who is making known visibly the invisible God?

No!

So we're sons and daughters of God, but we're not the one-of-a-kind Son.

And what makes him the one-of-a-kind Son

is that he's totally God and totally man.

And it makes him uniquely qualified to get something done

to rescue sinners from their sin.

Now I just want to point something interesting out in this passage.

In verses 16 through 18, Jesus speaks about himself in the third person

as the Son, the only Son.

But when you get to verses 19 through 21, he shifts his language

from talking about to being the only Son to being the light.

This is the judgment.

The light has come into the world.

He's talking about himself.

And people love the darkness rather than the light

because their works were evil.

For everyone who does wicked things hates the light.

So I just want you to notice that Jesus shifts

from talking about himself as the Son

to talking about as the light

and that he is the light that shines in the world.

And the world is equated with darkness

and not a spiritual darkness.

Darkness is a way of describing sin and death

and light is a way of describing holiness and life.

And so what we see here is Jesus talking about

that he is the light as a way of talking about

that he is salvation.

He is the one of a kind Son, Son of God,

and he is the light of eternal life

shining in the darkness of sinful humanity.

He is the one of a kind Son.

So he's making this argument.

Why believe in the Son?

Why believe in him?

He's one of a kind.

For what purpose did God send him then?

Did you notice in verse 16?

I'm sure you did

because this is the football field goal verse, right?

John 3, 16.

For God so loved the world that he gave.

And then in verse 17,

for God did not send his Son into the world

to condemn the world,

but sent him in order that the world

might be saved through him.

So what we're reading here is that,

is that God the Father gave his Son.

He sent his Son.

And he sent his Son for a purpose.

Jesus is literally a God sent.

God the Father gave, sent God the Son for a purpose.

And there's a clue to what that purpose is

in verse 17.

In order that.

But in order that the world might be saved through him.

Jesus was given by God, sent by God on a rescue mission.

He wasn't sent to condemn the world,

but to save the world.

To save, to rescue.

Time out, you say.

I didn't wake up this morning thinking that I was in danger.

I didn't drive to church to this morning

think I was needing rescue.

I don't feel like I'm in danger right now,

as a matter of fact.

What exactly do I need to be saved from?

Well, you need to be rescued from something of your own doing.

And it's something that you don't like to think about.

Those deep regrets that you have

from your past of how you hurt people,

how you deeply wounded people,

how you injured,

how you've done wrong and evil things.

And if they were broadcast,

you would be undone.

You'd be devastated.

You'd be embarrassed.

You've said things and done things

that are flat out wrong.

Do you know how I know?

Because I've done them too.

What you need to understand

is that these wrongs that you've done

are worse than you think they are.

Because those wrongs that you've done

are not only injuring yourself and others,

your wrongs are always wrongs against God.

And the Bible describes those wrongs

that you commit against yourself and others and God.

It describes it as committing sins.

When you sin against another person,

whether you lie or you steal

or you commit adultery

or you just flat out hate them,

you are also sinning against God.

And God is not indifferent to that.

Because God, as we heard from our communion meditation,

is a God of justice,

and that is good.

What this means is that your wrongs that you've done,

which you think that they weren't that bad,

are worse than you think.

Because they've always been done

against the living God,

and they have eternal consequences.

Maybe this is a surprise for you this morning.

Maybe there's something in your mind right now.

I'm like, wait, time.

Hold on a second, somebody.

Look at your Bible.

Look at verse 18.

No.

17.

For God did not send his son into the world

to condemn the world.

Why are you condemning me, Mike?

Jesus wasn't sent to condemn the world,

but to save the world.

Why don't you read your Bible?

It reminds me of a story.

Decades ago, my brother and I

were driving our young families.

This is decades ago,

when I was a younger man, immature.

Decades ago, my brother and I

were driving our families,

our young families,

in separate cars

across northern Indiana

on State Route 30.

Anybody know it?

And we were flying.

I was in the lead car,

my older brother Scott

behind in his car,

and we were setting

a new land speed record.

Brothers egg each other on.

At one point,

I looked up in the rearview mirror,

and lo and behold,

an Indiana State trooper

pulled up behind my brother's

mother.

Lights flashing,

siren blaring,

and my first thought was,

stinks to be you, Scott.

I've been delivered.

I look up again at my rearview mirror,

and Scott is pulling his car over

with the State trooper

pulling over with him,

and behind the State trooper

was another State trooper.

Sirens going,

lights flashing,

and he pulled up behind me,

and he pulled me over.

You see,

10 miles earlier,

we had been condemned already,

and they had just been following us

for 10 miles,

waiting for the moment

to pull us over.

Judgment caught up with me,

and God's judgment for the wrongs

you've done against him.

You've already been clocked.

And it's just a matter of time

before it catches up.

That's the danger you're in.

It's not because Jesus,

he didn't send Jesus

not to condemn the world.

The world was condemned already.

That's why he sent Jesus,

in order to save the world.

Because our sin provokes God's just wrath,

and you will suffer for it

if you have to pay that on your own.

God the Father sent God the Son

in order to bear God's just wrath

for your wrongs,

in order to save you.

That's why Jesus is a matter of life or death.

So let me ask this.

What would motivate God to send Jesus?

It's in one word.

It's the word love.

For God so loved the world.

This is God's extraordinary love,

we delight in his justice,

we are really grateful for his mercy,

but his grace and his love,

we celebrate.

But let me just be clear,

love doesn't mean some kind of emotional,

feel-good thing right now.

That's not the love of God.

The love of God is a commitment.

It's a resolve.

It is a pursuit

that none of us deserves.

And remember that this word world,

for God so loved the world,

don't think planet.

The world is sinful humanity

in organized rebellion against God.

Defined this way,

you can start understanding

why John uses darkness language

to describe the world.

It's humanity living in the darkness

of a sinful rebellion,

which then makes God's love for the world

all the more extraordinary.

Let me tweak 3.16 a little bit

to make the point.

For God so loved his enemies

that he gave his one-of-a-kind son.

For God so loved those who rejected him

and ignored him

and wronged him over and over and over again

that he sent his one-of-a-kind son

to die for them.

For God so loved those who worshipped themselves,

which is the high capital crime of pride.

God so loved them

that he gave his one and only son

who humbled himself

even to the point of death for them.

What is extraordinary

is not how lovable you and I are,

because we're not,

but how loving God is.

Extraordinary.

In love, God sent Jesus

to be lifted up on the cross

and die in the place

of those sinners.

Jesus suffered the full venting

of God's wrath

for all of our sin

in six hours on one Friday afternoon.

And being totally God

and totally man,

Jesus was uniquely qualified

to be the savior of the world.

Because he's totally God,

he can satisfy God's wrath

totally in six hours.

And because he is totally man,

he can represent us totally.

He can sympathize with us in every way.

What kind of love is this?

That God incarnate would die for me

and you rebels?

It's extraordinary.

But let me just be clear.

Jesus didn't die for us.

Just to rescue us from God's wrath.

Jesus died in order to reconcile us to God.

Not just to save us from God's wrath

over our sin,

but save us to God.

To experience a fullness of relationship

which we were created for.

God in his love paid the greatest price

in order for you and me

to experience a relationship,

a life-giving relationship with him.

And do you know who gets all the glory for that?

None of us.

Not to us, O Lord.

Not to us,

but to your name give glory

because of your steadfast love

and faithfulness.

This is a matter of life or death.

And what Jesus is doing is making case

that he alone is the sole object

of our trust

regarding this matter of life or death.

No one, nothing else can save you

from your sins but him.

He is uniquely qualified

as being totally God and totally man,

the one of a kind son

to be the savior of the world,

to be your savior.

So if Jesus truly is God in the flesh

and he has made a way for you

to be rescued from God's wrath

and he's offering you rescue this morning,

there are only two ways to respond to him

according to Jesus.

And that's where I want to point you to now.

The polar opposite responses.

Jesus explains this in this passage.

Imagine a topographical map

of the United States.

Can you see that in your mind?

Or maybe a globe

where you can see

on the western side of the United States

just the rising of the Rocky Mountains

and it is a mountain line

that extends all the way up

to the North American continent

and all the way down

to the South American continent.

It's also called the Continental Divide.

If precipitation falls

on the eastern side

of the Continental Divide,

that water will flow

either into the Hudson Bay,

the Atlantic Ocean,

or the Gulf of Mexico.

But if precipitation falls

on the western side

of the Continental Divide,

it flows into the Pacific Ocean.

The Continental Divide

is a great watershed.

Rain can fall

on top of the same mountain,

but that water

can end up thousands of miles apart

in two different oceans.

Jesus Christ,

God's one-of-a-kind Son,

is the great continental divide

of all humanity.

How you respond to Him

will determine

where you spend eternity.

What you believe about Jesus

is a matter of life and death,

eternal life,

eternal death,

and Jesus Himself spells out

two polar opposite responses

to Him

in this passage.

And He uses

different language for it.

The first is

believing or not believing

in the Son.

If you look at 3.18,

whoever believes in Him,

the Son,

is not condemned.

But whoever does not believe

is condemned already

because he is not believed

in the name

of the only Son of God.

Believing

or not believing in Jesus

are polar opposite responses

to Jesus.

He's making Himself

out to be

the great continental divide

of all humanity.

And whether you believe Him

or not

will result

in you being condemned

or not condemned.

And I've already shown you

from 3.18

what it means

to be condemned.

You're condemned already.

If you flip your Bibles

over to chapter 3,

verse 36,

this is just another way

Jesus describes it.

Whoever believes in the Son

has eternal life.

Whoever does not obey the Son

shall not see life,

but the wrath of God

remains on him.

He's condemned already.

That's what it means

to be condemned,

to be under God's

just wrath.

Whether you believe or not,

there's a lot riding on it

because Jesus is the sole object,

the sole Savior,

but there's some confusion

on what it means to believe.

There's confusion in the room

of what biblical belief is

and what biblical belief is not.

Hence,

I brought out this chair.

Can everybody see the chair?

Let me ask you a question.

Do you believe this chair

can hold your weight?

Yeah, you do.

You believe that.

Are you exercising

that belief right now?

No, you're not.

You're trusting

in your pew right now.

You're not trusting

in this chair right now,

though you intellectually agree

that this can hold your weight.

When we talk about

biblical belief,

we're talking about

active trust,

not intellectual agreement.

Did you know that

even the demons believe

that Jesus is the one-of-a-kind

Son of God?

So here it is.

This is not believing.

If this chair is Jesus,

this is not believing in Jesus.

If you're sitting in the pew,

you're not believing in the chair.

It's only when you sit

in the chair

that you are trusting

in the chair.

And what conversion is,

it means you've got to get out

of trusting in yourself.

You've got to get up

out of that chair,

and you've got to go

put all of your weight

in the Jesus chair.

Are you following me?

And if you think

you believe in Jesus,

but you haven't actually

put all of your weight,

your trust,

for your present

and future life

to deliver you

from the wrath to come,

guess what?

You're not actually saved.

You've deceived yourself.

You just agree

that Jesus is the Savior

of the world,

but you're not actually

trusting in Him.

And so what that means

is you remain condemned already.

Whether you trust in Jesus or not,

it's a matter of life or death.

You've got to believe in the Son,

not just agree.

There's another contrast

in verses 19 through 21.

And it's not believing

or not believing.

It's where Jesus describes Himself

as the light of the world,

the light that has come

into the world.

And what this contrast

contributes

is something a little bit more

than believing

or not believing

in the Son.

Because in this section,

in verses 19 through 21,

what Jesus actually

shows us

is why

people

don't

trust in the Son.

Why people

don't believe

in the Son.

Look at verses 19 through 20.

And this is the judgment.

The light has come

into the world

and people

loved

the darkness

rather than the light

because

their works were evil.

Verse 20,

for everyone

who does wicked things

hates

the light.

Hates the light

and does not come

to the light

lest

his works

or her works

should be

exposed.

Do you know

why people refuse

to come to Jesus?

Jesus gives

the answer here.

Because

they love

their sins

more

than they love

the Savior.

Savior.

That's

Jesus' answer.

They don't want

to have their sins

exposed.

They don't want

to have to change

their lives

because they think

that is going

to be

somehow

lesser of a life

when in fact

Jesus offers

abundant life.

They don't want

to give up

sinning.

They don't want

to be exposed.

Here's

what this means.

if you're not

a Christian

in the room

here's what

this means.

In order

for you

to be rescued

from God's

very real

wrath

you must

first

take

responsibility

for the

wrongs

you've done

against him.

You've got

to own it.

Coming

to the

light of

Jesus

requires

humility.

It requires

honesty.

It requires

saying yes

I am guilty.

I have

sinned

against you.

When you

come into

the light

of Jesus

you get

your sins

exposed.

You start

to see

your sin

for what

it is.

Evil

and wicked

works

that are

seen

for what

they are

in God's

sight.

The very

things that

condemn you

you get

to see

them.

So in

order to

become a

Christian

you don't

ignore

your sins.

You

confess

them.

You

repent

of them.

You

turn

from

them

because

you

realize

this

is

the

way

of

destruction.

I

don't

want

to

perish

under

God's

wrath.

I

got

to

turn

to

Jesus

and

turn

away

from

this

stuff.

So in

order to

become a

Christian

you don't

ignore

your

sins.

You

own

them.

being a

sinner

against

God.

That's

why you

need to

be

saved.

What

Jesus is

saying

here is

that people

refuse to

come to

the light

because they

love their

sin more

than the

one who

can save

them from

their sins.

And in

verse 21

Jesus

contrasts

those who

don't

come to

the

light

with

those

who

do

come

to

the

light.

Verse 21

!

But whoever

does

what is

true

comes to

the

light

so that

it

may

be

clearly

seen

that

his

works

have

been

carried

out

in

God.

By

implication

if

those

who

don't

come

to

the

light

love

darkness

verse 19

and

hate

the

light

verse 20

then

those

who

come

to

the

light

they've

got to

hate

darkness

they've

got to

hate

the

sin

and

they've

got to

love

the

light

they've

got to

love

Jesus

they've

got to

see him

for

for

the

unique

one of

a

kind

son

he

is

those

who

come

to

light

love

the

savior

more

than

their

sins

they

see

their

need

for

rescue

and

are

willing

to

say

yes

this

is

who

I

truly

am

save

me

did

you

notice

that

Jesus

is

emphasizing

love

hate

language

love

the

darkness

hate

the

light

do

you

know

what

that

means

conversion

requires

a

heart

change

a

new

heart

for

someone

to

do

what

is

true

in

pleasing

in

God's

sight

verse

21

that

person

has

to

have

a

new

heart

and

God

gives

new

hearts

when

sinners

are

born

anew

by

the

spirit

they

are

born

again

this

is

what

Jesus

was

talking

to

Nicodemus

about

moments

ago

they

hate

their

sin

and

love

the

light

and

who

they

are

living

for

becomes

evidently

clear

that

Jesus

is the

controlling

center

of their

life

so

Jesus

spells

out

these

polar

opposite

responses

to

God's

one of a

kind

son

who

is

shining

in

the

darkness

and

he

spells

them

out

by

talking

about

!

the

same

responses

in

two

different

ways

believing

and

not

believing

in

the

son

as

well

as

coming

to

the

light

being

born

of

God

or

not

coming

to

the

light

which

is

remaining

dead

in

your

sins

and

God's

wrath

remaining

on

you

these

are

the

polar

opposite

responses

to

Jesus

and

he

makes

himself

into

the

great

continental

divide

of

all

of

humanity

what

side

of

him

are

you

on

Jesus

explains

what it

means

to

believe

in

him

so

that

you

may

have

eternal

life

he

alone

is

to

be

trusted

as

the

savior

of

the

world

the

one

of a

kind

son

and

there

are

only

two

responses

do

you

know

what

this

passage

is

all

about

trusting

in

Jesus

is

a

matter

of

life

or

death

so

trust

in

Jesus

and

live

if

you're

a

Christian

in

the

room

here's

what

this

means

for

you

thank

God

for

saving

you

don't

forget

what

you've

been

forgiven

from

there's

a

little

episode

in

Luke

7

where

Jesus

has

been

invited

to

a

dinner

party

with

Simon

the

Pharisee

in

a

woman

of

the

city

which

is

a

nice

way

of

saying

a

prostitute

comes

in

and

she

starts

crying

on

his

feet

and

cleaning

his

feet

with

her

hair

and

then

she

breaks

open

this

very

expensive

bottle

of

perfume

and

anoints

him

with

that

and

there

is

Simon

the

Pharisee

saying

in

his

heart

if

he

was

a

prophet

he

would

know

who

this

woman

was

and

Jesus

goes

on

to

tell

him

a

story

and

he

sums

it

up

this

way

this

woman

who's

done

all

these

things

she's

been

forgiven

much

he's

been

forgiven

much

loves

much

but

he

who's

forgiven

little

loves

little

and

what

you

need

to

know

is

everybody

in

the

room

if

you're

a

follower

of

Jesus

you

have

been

forgiven

much

and

when

you

give

thanks

to

Jesus

it

is

good

here's

the

second

thing

Christian

you

do

tell

others

of

what

Jesus

has

done

for

you

start

easy

start

with

your

spouse

but

Mike

my

spouse

is

a

Christian

already

so

what

tell

them

oh

Jenny

I

am

amazed

that

God

would

forgive

me

a

sinner

she'd

be

like

amen

you

are

a

sinner

saved

by

grace

but

don't

stop

with

your

spouse

go

on

to

your

kids

do

your

kids

know

how

God

saved

you

they

might

need

a

letter

you

might

not

explain

it

kind

of

in

a

G

rating

at

first

and

then

he

moved

to

PG

when

they're

a little

older

and

then

he

moved

into

R

if

you

think

you

can

when

they're

old

enough

oh

but

don't

hold

back

tell

them

of what

Jesus

has

done

for

you

grandparents

when Hudson

my

grandson

is

old

enough

I'm

going

to

share

with

him

what

Jesus

has

done

for

his

grandpa

tell

your

grandkids

and

don't

leave

out

what

this

same

God

is

offering

them

in

Jesus

do

you know

why we

tell

other

people

about

Jesus

because

Jesus

is a

matter

of

life

or

death

let's

pray

together

Lord

Jesus

thank

you

for

willingly

giving

yourself

as the

one of a

kind

son of

God

for us

sinners

to make

us

God's

sons

and

daughters

God

would

you

by

your

spirit

not only

deepen

our

gratitude

for

that

but

would

you

increase

our

boldness

to tell

other

people

about

that

amen

I

almost

forgot

I

moved

this

around

right

before

the

sermon

so I

forgot

to say

this

if

you're

a

non-Christian

if

you're

a

non-Christian

you've

just

been

seeing

Jesus

as a

chair

that

you

could

sit

in

Jesus

is

inviting

you

this

morning

he's

inviting

you

this

morning

to

trust

in

him

alone

to

be

saved

to

receive

eternal

life

and

I'm

guessing

you're

wondering

what do

I

do

you

pray

here's

what you

pray

I'm

going to

read

this

and then

I'm

going to

pray

it

and then

you

pray

along

with

me

you

say

Lord

Jesus

save

me

from

the

wrath

my

sins

deserve

and

then

you

say

thank

you

for

dying

in my

place

and

giving

me

eternal

life

amen

that's

all you

have to

say

so I'm

going to

pray that

now

and if

you want

to pray

that

you pray

along

and after

I say

amen

I'm going to

say one

more thing

to you

Lord

Jesus

save

me

from the

wrath

my sins

deserve

thank

you

for

dying

in

my

place

and

giving

me

eternal

life

amen

if

you've

prayed

that

prayer

you

need

to

tell

me

so

would

you

find

me

after

the

service

and

let

me

know

that

today

you've

become

a

Christian

God

bless

you

amen