Wednesday, August 28, 2013

I Have Been "Born Again;" Now What?

August 25, 2013
I Have Been "Born Again;" Now What?
John 3:1-21
Scott Howard

--How can the Gospel become a reality in our lives?
--Are you "Born Again?"

"Jesus replied [to Nicodemus], 'I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God.'" 
--John 3:3

Nicodemus had been a Pharisee, and had studied the Jewish religion all his life.  He spent his life learning (intellectually) how to "do" his religion.  But after Jesus came, all his "religion" (his rules and law to live by) became meaningless.  It was a cover-up for his isolation and independence from God.  He had no spiritual life or relationship with God.  In our text, Jesus is telling Nic that he needed to be born, spiritually, to a new life and relationship with God.  This has everything to do with God and His Grace.

-God is the Supreme actor in salvation.
-God's grace permeates the whold picture of what it means to be "Born Again."  It cannot be done without His grace.
-Faith, at its core, is a gift of grace.
-Your faith is based on a God whose grace has totally captivated you and transformed your life.
    
---What happens when we are "Born Again?"

-God reveals our need
     --The new birth is necessary to know God
     --The new birth is impossible without God
     --The new birth is dependent on God  (it's not about what you do, but what God does in you!)

The phrase "born again" literally meant "to be born from above."  What a neat picture.  This is a different birth than physical, it is definitely a spiritual birth.

The Gospel is a picture of God coming to you right where you are!  God doesn't require you to "clean-up" your life first.  He comes to you in your darkness and shines His light on you.  And it's the righteousness of His Son that cleans you from the inside out.  There is no one who is beyond God's reach.

-God changes our heart.  He gives us a new heart, and fills us with His spirit which ultimately changes our lives. 

Like Nic, we tend to spend our lives trying to reform our lives on the outside, in order to look religious.  But we need God to change us from the inside out.  If we try to do things on our own and keep on failing, we lose our joy and run back to our old lives.  But it's not about improving our old nature, it's about God giving us a new nature; new likes, new dislikes, new desires, and new goals.  It may not be all at once, but if we give up our control, and let Him do the work, He will change us and mold us bit by bit, into the sons and daughters we were made to be.

"Jesus looked at them and said, 'With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.'"
--Matthew 19:26

Wednesday, August 7, 2013

The Forgiven

August 4, 2013
The Forgiven
Luke 7:36-50
Scott Howard

God saves both the wayward and the uninterested. 

In our text, Jesus is dining at the house of a Pharisee and a "woman of the city" (or a town harlot, as The Message calls her) found out that Jesus was there.  She was so overcome by the shame and guilt of her sinful life that she wept at Jesus' feet.  When she realized she had drenched his feet with her tears, she dried them with her hair and then bathed his feet in perfume.  Probably the most expensive thing she had. 

The Pharisee, thinking silently to himself, wondered if Jesus was who he said he was because, surely he would know that this was a sinful woman touching him.  Jesus knew what he was thinking and called him out on his self-righteous attitude, adding that the woman was a better host than the Pharisee also.

"Jesus answered him, "Simon, I have something to tell you."
"Tell me, teacher," he said. 
"Two men owed money to a certain moneylender.  One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he canceled the debts of both.  Now which of them will love him more?"
Simon replied, "I suppose the one who had the bigger debt canceled."
"You have judged correctly," Jesus said.  Then he turned toward the woman but said to Simon, "Do you see this woman?  I came into your house.  You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair.  You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet.  You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet.  Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven---for she loved much.  But he who has been forgiven little loves little."
---Luke 7:40-47

Even though the woman  had many sins to be forgiven of, she was not too far into sin that forgiveness couldn't reach her.  Isaiah 59:1 says, "Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear."  He hears even the silent cry for help, and reaches as far as we can go in order to save us!

God's just desserts:  Jesus leaves a few words for the woman after the meal. 
"Then Jesus said to her, "Your sins are forgiven."  The other guests began to say among themselves, "Who is this who even forgives sins?"
Jesus said to the woman, "Your faith has saved you; go in peace." 
--Luke 48-50
  • Be Forgiven -- Released from  guilt
  • Be Saved -- by Faith accept His forgiveness
  • Go In Peace -- Walk through life with an inner tranquility
Worship always happens at the feet of Jesus.  Worship is a preoccupation with Jesus, not some form or ritual.  And worship is more concerned about giving something than getting something.