"THE PURPOSE OF HIS COMING"
Intro. When the angel announced to the shepherds the birth of Jesus, he said, "Unto you is born this day in the city of David, the Savior who is Christ the Lord." Years later when this child had grown, He announced to the people the purpose of His coming, He said: "For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost."
I. WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE SAVED?
A. We are saved from the destructive consequences of sin.
1. God has given us rules for life. The prophet Micah said, "He has shown thee O man what is good."
2. David said the law of the Lord is perfect.
3. God has not prohibited us from doing one decent thing. If something is good and beneficial, God said, "Do it."
4. The things that God has declared to be sin are all destructive in nature. They harm and will ultimately destroy you either:
a. Physically.
b. Emotionally.
c. Socially.
d. These are the things God said, "Don't do."
5. Man in his pride and arrogance thinks that he knows better than God and has done the things that God said he was not to do, and the destructive effects of that disobedience is destroying not only man but the world.
a. If man would have only obeyed God's rules, there would be no need for Doctors, Psychiatrists, Judges, Lawyers, Police officers, military budgets, and a host of other things.
b. As we look at our world today we see the destructive effects of sin blighting every segment of our society.
B. We are saved from the eternal consequences of sin.
1. Man can exist on two planes, the physical and the spiritual.
2. All dwell on the physical plane, but many know nothing of the spiritual plane of existance.
a. This is what Jesus was talking to Nicodemus about. He said that he had to born again if he were to see the kingdom of heaven. He needed a spiritual birth.
b. He had been born once and lived on the physical plane, but to see the kingdom of heaven he had to born again, he had to be born of the Spirit and live on the spiritual plane.
c. When Nicodemus responded, "I am an old man, how can I be born again? I can't return a second time to my mothers womb." Jesus responded, As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life, for God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life."
d. That is how you have a spiritual birth, by believing in Jesus Christ, which is a matter of choice.
e. Paul wrote, "You has he made alive who were once dead in your trespasses and sins."
f. Again he wrote that if a person lived only for pleasure, they were dead while they were still alive.
3. Jesus said that God was a Spirit and they that worshipped Him must worship Him in Spirit and in truth.
a. If you are not born again, you cannot truly know God or fellowship with God.
b. The Bible speaks of being alienated from the life of God through unbelief.
c. The eternal consequence of sin is to be eternally separated from God in a place that the Bible calls Gehenna.
II. WHEN IS A PERSON LOST?
A. You are lost right now. If you have not received God's gift of eternal life, if you would die today, you would be eternally lost.
1. You are lost to God.
a. God has a plan and purpose for your life. You are not here by accident, but by design.
b. God has a work for you to do, but you are not doing it, thus you are a loss to God.
c. God wants you to be a light in this dark world, but if you are living in darkness, you are only contributing to the overall darkness of the world.
d. God created you that you might enjoy His fellowship, but if you are not living in fellowship with God you are a loss.
2. You are a loss to your family.
a. You may be a good provider, your children may have the finest clothes and cars, but if you are only providing the material, physical things, then you are giving them a wrong perception of life and may be contributing to their eternal damnation.
b. God wants you to be a Godly example to your family, to teach and instruct them in the ways of the Lord that they might know and walk in the good path.
B. You will be lost at death.
1. When you come to the end of the road, and you are facing eternity, the only thing that will matter at that point is your relationship to Jesus Christ. If you do not know Him, all your good works will be of no avail.
2. Your bank account will be worthless.
3. You will pass into eternity, without God, and without hope. Lost
C. You will be lost before the judgment seat of God.
1. The Bible tells us that it is appointed unto man once to die, and after that the judgment.
2. The book of Revelation in chapter describes that awesome scene in heaven in chapter 20.
REV 20:11 And saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.
REV 20:12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
REV 20:13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.
REV 20:14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
REV 20:15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
3. Jesus described them as weeping and wailing and gnashing their teeth, for the fire is not quenched and their worm dieth not.
4. Why weeping and wailing, and gnashing their teeth? Because they are forever lost.
III. HOW IS A PERSON LOST?
A. By doing nothing about your relationship with God.
1. There used to be a two sided tract, on the one side the question, "What must I do to be saved?" and the scripture, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved." On the opposite side the question, "What must I do to be lost?" and the word in caps, "NOTHING".
2. That's right, just go on as your are, live a good life, do your best to be a good husband or wife, become active in the community, but if you do not do something about your sin, you will be lost, for sin is the destroyer.
IV. JESUS SAID THAT THE PURPOSE OF HIS COMING INTO THE WORLD WAS TO SEEK THE LOST.
A. How does He do that?
1. There are a thousand different ways that He seeks to get your attention.
a. The sudden unexpected death of a loved one.
b. A close call yourself, maybe on the highway. You missed, you don't know how, but your heart begins to pound and you suddenly feel weak and trembling a fraction of a second, and it could have been all over. Had you crashed and your life was taken, where would you be right now? Heaven or hell?
2. He speaks to us with that still inner voice.
a. He is saying to walk the right path, do the right thing.
b. He is inviting you to surrender your life to Him.
V. JESUS SAID THAT HE CAME TO SAVE THE LOST.
A. How is this accomplished?
1. As we have said, the reason we are lost is because of sin. It is slowly destroying us.
2. To be saved, something must be done about my sin.
3. Jesus saved me from the consequences of my sin, by taking the consequences of my sins Himself.
a. We sang, "He took my sins and my sorrows, He made them His very own, He bore the burden to Calvary, And suffered and died alone."
b. That is just what the Bible tells us. "All we like sheep, had gone astray, we had turned every one of us to our own way, but God laid on Him the iniquities of us all."
c. The Bible tells us that the blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son cleanses us from all sin.
B. Jesus did His part, He has given the gift of salvation. Now you have to do your part, you must receive Him as your Savior. At Christmas we are celebrating that the Savior was born, He was sent by God to seek and to save those who are lost. He found you, He brought you here today, it is now up to you to do your part and receive His gift of salvation.
C. How deceived and lost are so many in this world, they think that Christmas is giving and receiving gifts from each other, they think that the Christmas spirit is found in a bottle. Christmas is giving and receiving gifts, but it is God who gave the gift of salvation through His only begotten Son, who came to seek and to save those who are lost. Have you received God's gift to you?
Verse-Reference
Square — [Jhn 1:1 KJV]
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