Sermon Tone Analysis

! Introduction

The sermon of today is drafted from the first part of our catechism, it is called “The Lords Day 1”, were it asks you in person as follows:

*What is your only comfort in life and death?* \\ /That I am not my own, but belong with body and soul, both in life and in death, to my faithful Saviour Jesus Christ.

\\ He has fully paid for all my sins with His precious blood, and has set me free from all the power of the devil.

\\ He also preserves me in such a way that without the will of my heavenly Father not a hair can fall from my head, indeed, all things must work together for my salvation.

\\ Therefore, by His Holy Spirit He also assures me of eternal life and makes me heartily willing and ready from now on to live for Him./

*What do you need to know in order to live and die in the joy of this comfort?*

\\ /First, how great my sins and misery are; \\ second, how I am delivered from all my sins and misery; \\ third, how I am to be thankful to God for such deliverance./

\\

!!!!!! Move 1: In my live I'll be thankful to God, because I learned about my misery and who God saved me from that.

!!! Beloved people of God,

This morning we will think about our lives as Christians.

Can we agree with the words and say: /I am thankful to my God, because I’ve learned how He saved me from my sins and misery?/

What do we know about the /joy of the comfort/ which Jesus gave us when we live or die?

Let me put this in other words.

We know that we are no better than people who do not believe in Christ Jesus.

We too are sinners and (1Joh 1:10) /if we claim we have not sinned, we make God out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives./

But do we live a thankful live before God, because we know Jesus?

I like to explain this with an example.

When a child on school do not listen to a teacher, they will faces some kind of punishment.

Now, when that happens the child must, maybe, stand with his nose against the wall when the other children are having their brake.

Now, thats a live of sin and misery!

If you stand with your nose against the wall, you are not happy.

But when their time is over, then the teacher will let them go.

They have paid for their disobedience and will be able to play freely again.

The child will even say ‘Thank you’, because they are happy to play again.

They know now what went wrong, they also know now what will happen, but they also are thankful that it is all over now.

They go to play with joy of the comfort that they are free.

The same applies to Christians; they learnt from the Bible how great their sins and misery are.

Apostel Paul wrote (Rom 3: 9-11): /What shall we conclude then?

Are we any better​?

Not at all!

We have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under sin.

As it is written: “There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God.”/

Whether you are a Christian or not, we all suffer from the same problem.

But when you believe in Jesus, you know that you are set you free from that.

Only a teacher can set a child free from its punishment.

Only Jesus can set a sinner free from his or her punishment.

/Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved/ (Acts 4:2).

Understanding the gospel means that we know about this incredible gift of God.

God does not only forgive us our sins, but He also sets us free from the power of the devil.

This will be true when we are alive, but also on the moment we die.

Yes, we can be grateful for this, now we have to learn to live this new life.

Because we are Gods child forever and ever!

!!!!!! Move 2: Faith through the Holy Spirit

But our struggle is: /How do we carry on?/

I mean, when life gets tough and we feel the doubt in our hearts, how can we be so sure?

If other people sees the trouble in our lives, what can we answer?

Is there some kind of prove that we are a true children of God?

What do we say to ourselves, when we discover all kind of sins?

Can we believe we indeed are living heartily willing for God.

I think it is good to start with the teaching of Jesus.

Lets read in John 8:31-34.

/To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples.

Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

They answered him, “We are Abraham’s descendants​ and have never been slaves of anyone.

How can you say that we shall be set free?” Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin.

Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever./

What Jesus is saying to them, is that they are not saved because they are decants of Abraham.

The same applies to people in church.

One is not saved, because you attend a church each and every sunday.

Let me give you an example.

If you are going to watch a game, you will not become a player.

If you want to be a player, you must be involved and go to train and practice yourself.

Watching a game is not the same as playing a game.

This is what Jesus meant.

Oké, we get that point.

If we want to be a disciple of Jesus, we have to hold to his teachings.

But than the difficulty comes in.

Because what will happen when things go wrong?

What if we sin?

Are we than no longer children of God? Yes, we are, but we have to listen to our trainer.

The holy Spirit is like a trainer of a team, He is there to lead the team.

Apostel Paul put this in an other way, he wrote (Rom 8:12-14): /Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation—but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it.

For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God./ Being a member of a team you must train hard.

But does this imply you will always win?

For some people it is hard to believe, but sometimes even the Sharks loose a game.

But does that means that they are not the Sharks anymore?

No, of cores not.

The assurance of being a child of God does not come from a live without sins or misery.

The assurance comes from the Holy Spirit, who has been given to Christians (Rom 8:15-16).

/For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship.​

And by him we cry, “Abba,​​ Father.”

The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children./

When you become a player you will receive a shirt with a number on it.

This tells you, you are a member of the team and everyone knows your place.

This can be compared with Gods Spirit.

His presence is like a shirt of a team.

He gives you a place in church that everyone knows.

When you become a Christian you receive the holy Spirit.

The Spirit assures you, you are a child of God, you can cary on even if you struggle in live.

You do not have to do it on own strength, it is the work of the holy Spirit who makes us hardly willing to live for God.

!!!!!! Move 3: Freedom through Jesus

Therefore we /know/ that Jesus gave His own life for us, to set us free from sin AND power of the devil.

Two things.

Is someone asks us: ‘What did Jesus do for you?’

We answer two things.

He paid for all our sins AND he redeemed us from the power of the devil.

We have to remember them both.

Being paid for our sins means: ‘All our fines were paid off.’

Redeemed from the power of the devil means: ‘No prosecutor will come after you to get those fines to be paid again.’