Say Yes to Jesus
We believe that living for Jesus Christ is the most meaningful way to live. That’s why our overall mission is “Leading People to Live for Jesus Christ” Philippians 1:21
People seek pleasure in things, people seek pleasure in people. And whenever someone finds what they think or what is pleasurable to them, they give themselves to that, they'll live for that.
Oftentimes though, that pleasure seeking leads to things that are empty. It's oftentimes temporary, and it's certainly not satisfying for the long haul. We find though, if we could believe that God is the God of the Bible, that he provides permanent pleasure for us.
We find that at the very beginning of the scriptures in Genesis chapter one and two, where everything is created, it's beautiful, it's in harmony, the first two people are made, and they walk in intimacy and closeness with God. It's a beautiful picture. We find the psalmist reflecting back also, and he speaks about God and he says,
“You make known to me the path of life. In your presence is fullness of joy, and in your right hand there are pleasures forever.” Psalm 16:11
He says that pleasure is found in God. And when we find that pleasure in God, then he's the one for whom we live. However, we would all agree that the majority of people aren't finding their pleasure in living for God.
Why is that?
So even in our searching after God, we sometimes go after him in ways that will still lead us into separation from him. Sin is the great separator. And when we try to bridge that gap from our sinful self apart from God to try and get right with God, there are ways that we’ve come up with, just like Proverbs 16 says one of those ways is religion.
And what we believe is, is that somehow if we’ve grown up in the church or we’ve been baptized in the church, or we’re a member of a church, or we do all the rituals that a church says we’re to do, that we’ll find that pleasure in God and that we’ll be okay with him. Yet the Bible doesn’t say that.
That’s not how we get right with God. That’s not how we find pleasure in him. We also try good works as a way to get to God. And we believe that somehow if we do enough good things in this life that when it’s over, that we’ll be okay with God. We’re trying to find pleasure in that. The reality is that’s a lot of striving and effort and we’ll never really know if we’ve done enough good or not to be right with God.
The answer goes back to Genesis chapter three where sin entered into the world. Scripture tells us that through one man sin entered in and that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. So every person has sinned against God. And the wages of that sin is death. That’s the result of it. It’s separation from God.
We can define sin by thinking of it as those things that are opposed to God, those things that are wrong, those things that are bad. We can also think about sin though as those good things that are made ultimate things. Anytime we place something above God, even something that’s good, then we’ve sinned against him because he holds that rightful place over everything.
And it’s in him, in living for him, that we find the most pleasure and satisfaction in our souls. When we come to a place of realizing all these other places come up short, sometimes we start to seek after God. In Proverbs 16, 25, it says, there’s a way which seems right to a man, but it only leads to death.
So even in our searching after God, we sometimes go after him in ways that will still lead us into separation from him. Sin is the great separator. And when we try to bridge that gap from our sinful self apart from God to try and get right with God, there are ways that we’ve come up with, just like Proverbs 16 says one of those ways is religion.
And what we believe is, is that somehow if we’ve grown up in the church or we’ve been baptized in the church, or we’re a member of a church, or we do all the rituals that a church says we’re to do, that we’ll find that pleasure in God and that we’ll be okay with him. Yet the Bible doesn’t say that.
That’s not how we get right with God. That’s not how we find pleasure in him. We also try good works as a way to get to God. And we believe that somehow if we do enough good things in this life that when it’s over, that we’ll be okay with God. We’re trying to find pleasure in that. The reality is that’s a lot of striving and effort and we’ll never really know if we’ve done enough good or not to be right with God.
So that’s not how God says that we find that pleasure and find relationship with him. There’s a third way that we seek to get right with God and that’s through good morals. I wonder today if that’s more of an older generation that thinks like that, as we move into a more and more immoral kind of culture, but still people believe that if they are moral enough, that God will accept them. And yet again, scripture doesn’t say that.
And there’s still a fourth way that people try to move and bridge this gap and to be right with God. And that’s through being spiritual. And when we talk to people about that, what we hear them say is some creation of a God that they’re trying to fill a hole in their heart, the emptiness that’s there that they haven’t been able to find in any other way to fulfill it. And so they create some idea of who they want God to be. And for a while that consoles them and they believe that’s got them right with God.
The problem with all four of these is that the Bible doesn’t say anything about that that’s how we get right with God and bridge that gap that’s been separated by sin.
Sin enters in and separates so that we are no longer in that relationship with God.
We live in a broken and flawed world. Is there a way that that gap can be bridged, that separation taken care of?
Jesus Christ said that he’s the way, the truth, and the life that no one comes to the father except through him. So the way into that life is through Jesus Christ.
He also said that knowing him is eternal life and that he came that we might have life and have it abundantly. That’s God’s desire for us is to live in that pleasure and satisfaction that comes in relationship with him through Jesus Christ. And it came at a very high cost, a high price. Jesus was crushed for our sin. He died for us. He absorbed the wrath of his own father for us. And the scripture says that without the shedding of blood, there’s no forgiveness of sin. So for us to have relief and forgiveness from our sin, it was necessary for him to die for us. And he’s the only one that could do that.
He lived life in perfection and he did everything that we were unable to do. And he died a death that we couldn’t die and God raised him from the dead so that we might have life. This is the good news that he rescued us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved son in whom we have redemption and the forgiveness of sins.
This is through Jesus Christ. It’s one thing to know this, what Jesus did. It’s another thing to know what we do with it. God is inviting us into a relationship with him, a relationship that’s filled with joy and pleasure and satisfaction. For by grace, you’ve been saved through faith and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not as a result of work so that no one may boast. It is a gift from God.
It’s grace by which we can be saved. There’s another side of the coin when we think about faith though. At first it’s faith in what Jesus Christ has done for us and then it’s repentance.
In Acts 3:19, it says, therefore repent and return so that your sins may be wiped away and that times of refreshing may come in the presence of the Lord. When by faith we trust Jesus Christ for our salvation and repent and turn away from the old way of living, then our souls are refreshed.
It’s simply telling Jesus that you know you’re separated from him and that you believe that what he did is true and you’re in. If you’ve said yes to Jesus, there’s some things that have happened to you.
In 2 Corinthians 5, 17, it says, if anyone is in Christ, he’s a new creation. The old things passed away. Behold, all things have become new. You have a new identity now in who you are in Jesus Christ. And now it’s the love of Christ that controls us so that we no longer live for ourselves, but for him who died and rose again on our behalf. We live this life out of gratitude for what he did for us.
Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father. So we live the remainder of our life for him, for his glory, and that brings us the most pleasure. We also know that when this life ends, that we have eternal life with God. And scripture says that when we go to be with him, we will be just like him. We’ll be exactly as he is, and we’ll live in perfect pleasure and relationship with him. We’re also told that all of creation will be restored so that which was once in perfect harmony will be again in that perfect harmonious time.
And we get to be a part of that for all of our lives and all of eternity with God.
The first thing we must do to follow Jesus is to turn from our former way of life (repent) and trust in Jesus (believe). This is how you become a Christian. As Christians we are also to help others to repent and believe.
The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.
And when Jesus came to the place, He looked up and said to him, “Zaccheus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.” So he hurried and came down and received Him joyfully….” And Zaccheus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.” And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house.”