What does this world offer

Jesus offers more than you can imagine

Main point: Jesus is more than the entire world.

Preached in Southbridge on

Lesson Text:

Introduction:

What does this world offer?

I want to talk to you about Jesus.

Have you ever heard the song “I can only imagine”?

1.    What can this world offer?

a.    Money- Does money solve all our problems, we are meant to think that but in reality it most definitely does not.

b.    Sex, Pleasure- Are we to think that giving in to our temptations and living for pleasure of any and all kinds will give us happiness and make our lives rich and we will feel wonderful? In fact these things can and often do bring about misery and despair mixed emotions and eventually death. Most often they bring about or usher in death. People who indulge in pleasure weather it be sex, drugs, alcohol, shopping, eating, you name it brings about misery and gloom.

c.    Power,-  If you get to the top of the financial ladder or political ladder or just to the top in your own office or work place then you have made it and life is going to be a breeze from now on. Is that true? No in fact the opposite is true the more power and influence you gain the more you want the more you need. Power means nothing.

2.    What does Jesus offer us?

a.    Life eternal- Full life in this world and in heaven. This world is full of trials and heart ache but compared to what the unsaved life is like it’s glorious. You’re going to have troubles we were promised them when Christ said “take up tour cross and follow me”. But we receive blessings now we have relationships built on Love not on what you can give me or on lust, even those trials we have are promised to work for our good, whether it’s a building up or strengthening us. It works for our good. Not so the unsaved they suffer for no reason they go through trials for no reason and in the end they gain nothing but loose their souls to eternal death.

b.    Love- We are loved even if we are unsaved we are loved by God but when saved we can have a loving relationship with the creator of the universe. He loves me and I in turn love him back and try to love other as Christ loves them. True pure love, the kind that all people are looking for can be found in Christ. And that love is unconditional and eternal.

3.    Christ offers us gives us as a gift the Forgiveness of our Sins.

a.    Christ offers us, gives us as a gift the Forgiveness of our Sins. We have a choice to accept or reject that gift. We can in no way pay for this gift, it’s a gift. You might ask why do we need the forgiveness of sins? God is Holy and to have a relationship with him we need to be holy and not one person on earth has lived a perfect sinless life that is except for Jesus. But you see even though we have fallen short, and by short I mean its immeasurable how far from God we have fallen, God has pursued us and has always wanted to be in relationship with us, and to do that we needed a substitute a perfect sacrifice and that was Christ crucified on the cross of Calvary. The price was paid on the cross. And the Gift He gives to you, me, and every person of this world is forgiveness of sins. It doesn’t stop there.

4.    Christ offers the gift of eternal life.

a.    Christ offers the gift of eternal life. The gift of living forever in a perfect relationship with God in a perfect place, heaven. You know if you were to ask the average person if they would like to live forever they would probably say yes.

                                          i.    PBS TV Show

                                        ii.    There was a PBS television show that I was watching a while back that was all about robots and computers and artificial intelligent. They showed the beginning of computers and robot technologies and went through right up to today. And then onto what they hoped would be the future of these technologies. At the end of this program one scientist told the interviewer his hope for the future. His hope was that one-day he would be able to download his brain onto a computer chip and place it into a robot so he could live forever. Why would he think this way or want to do something like that? Because we have a longing to live. We don’t want to die our natural feeling is one of wanting to live forever. Most people don’t want to die. That’s why we have stories about the fountain of youth and we hear so much about staying young. Now why would we feel this way? People have given all kinds of different reasons for this but I will tell you the truth, it’s because we were created to live forever but sin has infected our world. We have all sinned and fallen short and we are told in scripture that THE WAGES or the payment for sin, what we deserve for sinning, is death and that death will be an eternal one, an eternal separation from God. But that’s not what God wants for us he wants us to live in a perfect relationship with him in heaven and through Christ that is assured. Christ offers the gift of eternal life.

5.    Christ offers us adoption into the family of God.

a.    Christ offers us adoption into the family of God. Now I don’t know if any of you have ever felt abandoned or alone? But when you’re adopted into a family you become part of that family. Christ has given those who come to him an adoption, an adoption into the family of God never to be alone. Christians we are children of God and heirs with Christ of everything. And that is a gift that Christ offers to all who will come to him.

6.    Christ offers us guidance through the difficult times and has promised to be with those who are his forever in fact he has made his home in us. (Scripture) ****

7.    Christ has given us the Holy Spirit As our guide throughout our journey of our earthly life ___?????(John 14:16-18) ????

8.    And so much more the King of Kings and Lord of Lords has given us many gifts and offers those same gifts to all people.

Conclusion

            What can this world offer us? Nothing, nothing of any lasting value. And even those things it offers are in reality harmful to us and lead to misery.