Mission | All In

17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18 And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.

Today, you are here to worship God; to behold His glory as we are being transformed from one degree of glory to another.

May you experience in the Spirit’s freedom as we worship Him together for His glory and our joy!

If you are visiting with us this morning, we want you to know that Ephesus is an active faith community on a mission with Jesus.

Here at Ephesus, we are one people giving our all to love God, love others, proclaim Jesus, and make disciples in our generation.

We have a connect card in the pew in front of you. I invite you to take one and fill it out! If you have prayer needs, you can let us know about those as well.

I promise, our prayer team will lift you up soon. You can place those cards in the offering plate when it comes around.

Scripture Memory

Nehemiah 9:6 ESV

6 “You are the Lord, you alone. You have made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them; and you preserve all of them; and the host of heaven worships you.

Opening Scripture

Romans 5:6–21 ESV

6 For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— 8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. 10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. 11 More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation. 12 Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned— 13 for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law. 14 Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come. 15 But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man’s trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many. 16 And the free gift is not like the result of that one man’s sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brought justification. 17 For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ. 18 Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. 19 For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous. 20 Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, 21 so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Introduction

Breaking News:

A dark plague has descended upon humanity. It is horrible. This plague is causing good men and women to walk around alienated from life like zombies, only worse. Rather than craving the flesh of others flesh, they crave their own flesh.

No they aren’t eating themselves. But the disease has hardened their hearts, they have become calloused to the point that the only thing that matters to them is themselves. They have completely given themselves over sensuality, greed, covetousness, immorality and jealousy.

They talk and act like those who no longer have the capacity reason and show empathy. Why, they even mistreat their own parents and their own children. They are drunkards and addicts who will lie, cheat, and kill to appease their own flesh. They are insolent constantly seeking to stoke the flames of riot and rebellion.

Unfortunately, researchers tell us that not only is there no cure to be found in human thought, but the disease is passed down to the children born into this messy situation. We have become our own worst enemy. There is no end in sight.

This disease appears to be the end of humanity. Where can we turn for help? Is there anyone who can save us from ourselves?

1. Do we recognize our problem?

Obviously, I am painting a picture of our current battle with sin. In the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve severed our connection with God.

They made the choice to go down a path they thought would lead to their own glory and power, but in the end it brought humanity into a rebellion against God.

A rebellion that left us as a race, condemned and cursed with death. God said, If you sin, you will die.

Obviously death is at work powerfully in our world. We can see that, can’t we? Look at the calamity, disease, famine, injustice, pain, natural disasters, political instability, we could go on and on.

It is not just something we see. We can feel it in ourselves, to the core of our very being. We are dying, slowly but surely, death is overtaking us. As a people, we are under condemnation.

John 3:36 ESV

36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.

Paul calls us “children of wrath” in Ephesians 2:3

So as children of wrath, we cry out, as in Romans 7:24,

Romans 7:24 ESV

24 Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?

Louie Giglio put it like this in his sermon on John 3 titled “Choose Life”… He said,

“Sin didn’t knock us down to God’s JV team or put us on probation or put you on a slower track to get our mansion in heaven. Sin wiped us out.”

Church our sinful rebellion against God is infinitely worse than most of us would care to imagine. Remember that the Gospel is bad news before it becomes good news.

To our finite intellects, it would appear to be impossible to repair the damage we have done and to restore the relationship we had with our Creator.

But God is God and we are not! In...

Mark 10:27 ESV

27 Jesus looked at them and said, “With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.”

2. God Mounted a Rescue Mission

Today through Easter, I am going to talk about God’s Rescue Mission. A mission that would be impossible without God, was totally possible with Him. A mission we are going to call Mission | 3:16

This morning we are going to look at the heart of that mission. In doing so, we will see that this was a mission that God was all in on! It is a mission that we must be all in on as well.

We are going to begin in one of the most, if not the most famous passage of all of Scripture. John 3:16-18

If the passage isn’t well know, John 3:16 is .

John 3:16–18 ESV

16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.

3. Do We Understand How Invested God is in His Rescue Mission?

You are familiar with the phrase, ‘familiarity breeds contempt’ but I believe there is something to Dallas Willard’s comment in his book “The Divine Conspiracy” where he says,

My hope is to gain a fresh hearing for Jesus, especially among those who believe they already understand him. In his case, quite frankly, presumed familiarity has led to unfamiliarity, unfamiliarity has led to contempt, and contempt has led to profound ignorance.

THE DIVINE CONSPIRACY (SAN FRANCISCO: HARPER COLLINS, 1998), P. XIII.

When something becomes common to us, it can likely (and ironically) become that much more unknown to us. Common things are unnoticed, unquestioned, and eventually unseen as the louder things in our world overshadow them.

Eight years ago, George Barna did a study in 2011 that revealed that around 50% of Americans say they have prayed a sinners prayer.

accessed on 3/29/2019 at https://www.barna.com/research/barna-study-of-religious-change-since-1991-shows-significant-changes-by-faith-group/

That means that half of all Americans claim to be Christian, at least 8 years ago. We have been told we are going to heaven when we die because we prayed a prayer.

The study also revealed that half of us have no real relationship with a church.

Again, about half of us think the Bible gets quite a bit of stuff wrong.

Here is the real kicker. About 2/3rd’s of us have lifestyles and worldview that look more like the sin infected world around us than those who sincerely hold to the Christian faith.

Are they really a part of us, if they aren’t a part of us? And how do we know we are a part of us?

Many people hear the message of Jesus, about their need to be saved and to come to Christ, and think, “oh … I’ve been there, done that … I’ve prayed the prayer.

Do they have a superficial faith or are they the Real McCoy’s?

Remember that in our passage, Jesus is not talking to pagans or atheists. He is talking to Nicodemus, a religious person who thinks he is good with God when he is not. At least not yet.

How many people are like that? Jesus knew many like that in His day, and I am convinced they are more numerous in ours.

John 2:23–25 ESV

23 Now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many believed in his name when they saw the signs that he was doing. 24 But Jesus on his part did not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people 25 and needed no one to bear witness about man, for he himself knew what was in man.

It is likely that Nicodemus was one of those in that group who believed, but Jesus did not entrust himself to.

Matthew 7:21-23 is even more pronounced in its understanding of superficial belief.

In both passages you have a group of people who claim to believe in Christ, some even pray and preach in His name.

But both passages clearly say that Jesus didn’t believe in them. He didn know them. He did not entrust Himself to them because He knew what was in them. He knew of their passing curiosity.

Now, if these passages aren’t describing a group of superficial, nominal (in name only) Christians, then I have no idea who they’d be describing.

In reality, we have created a cultural climate where it is okay to call yourself “a Christian,” but not be willing to be a disciple of Jesus.

God is heavily invested in salvation, but it appears many who claim to be Christian are not.

4. So What Kind of Belief or Faith Saves? How invested are we in God’s Rescue Mission?

Belief, of course, means far more than merely intellectual assent to the truth. True faith means placing your life and trust in complete surrender to the one in whom you believe.

So you may be thinking, “Okay Pastor, this is interesting information, but what has all this got to do with God’s Rescue Mission or God being All In?

It is because God’s Rescue Mission weighs completely on what we do with His Gift to us.

Romans 6:23 ESV

23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

God gave eternal life, when death was deserved. That is grace, and there was nothing cheap about it.

Romans 5:8 ESV

8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Jesus Christ, the Son of God, was born to die.

He was sent by the Father for the express purpose of dying on a cross as the perfect lamb slain for the redemption of mankind from the sin.

1 John 4:10 ESV

10 In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

Propitiation is an action directed toward God in order to change His wrath to favor.

In and through the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, God substituted Himself for us and bore our sins, dying in our place a death we deserved to die, in order that we might be restored to His favor and adopted into His family.

This reconciliation between God and man is known as the atonement.

This was the free gift of God!

Do we accept it, reject it, or pretend to accept it but really we reject it? What we do matters because He has already provided us the cure. Will we trust Him and take it or not?

James Montgomery Boice once said,

The good news is not just that God became man, nor that God has spoken to reveal a proper way of life to us, or even that death, the great enemy, is conquered. Rather, the good news is that sin has been dealt with.

This morning let it be enough to catch a glimpse of the Father’s heart. Wonder anew at the extent He was willing to go to save me and you.

5. God Demonstrated That He Was All In by Giving His Only Son as Our Atoning Sacrifice.

John 3:16 ESV

16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

Our salvation came at a great cost to our Father in Heaven. It cost Him His Son.

We should not accept His gift without first recognizing the immense worth of such a gift. This was a gift of such value that we could not even begin to calculate the cost.

If we can’t put a value on such a gift as this, how then could we begin to understand the implications it has on our lives?

Now remember, 2:23 to 25, says, “Many believed; Nicodemus believed.” But what did they believe? They believed that Jesus was a teacher, that he came from God, and that he did miracles.

But that’s not enough to save. Nicodemus rejects the message of faith for salvation. He believes something, but he doesn’t believe what he has to believe.

If we come to Jesus without understanding the depth of the Father’s love, then we cheapen the grace by which the gift was given. In doing so, we are like Nicodemus and our faith is superficial.

Cheap grace only brings confusion and frustration, but not salvation. Our atonement proceeds from the loving heart of God.

But the gospel does not rest in God’s love, but rather in what he gave on the cross—the death of his Son.

The Bible does not allow us to merely acknowledge that Christ died for the world; saving faith requires a recognition that He died for each of us individually. And not just a recognition of a fact.

The Reformers came up with some terms. They said saving faith has three components in latin: notitia, fiducia, and assensus.

Notitia is knowledge, you have to know.

Romans 10:17 ESV

17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.

Faith comes by hearing the message concerning Christ, so you have to know or understand the depths of God’s Gift.

Then you have to have fiducia, you have to believe. That means to trust in or to have confidence in God’s gift.

Romans 10:9–10 ESV

9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.

The third one was assensus or assent, meaning to commit to, to commit, to take up your cross, to follow, to be obedient, to invest your entire life in that thing which you know and believe.

God is All In, Are We?

He gave the person that He loves the most, the Son of His love, and that shows you the extent of His love. He loves the world so that He gives His one of a kind, unique, beloved Son so that whoever believes would have eternal life. That person will be saved from the wrath of God and the punishment that would result.

Listen carefully.

The free offer of the gospel is broad enough to include the worst sinner who believes. Even murderers like David, and persecutors like Paul.

Listen, the gospel is narrow enough to exclude the most morally religious unbeliever.

The most wretched, corrupt person on the planet who trusts only in Christ—the gospel is wide enough to embrace him or her. It’s by faith alone.

Jesus told the greatest teacher of Israel that the gospel was narrow enough to exclude even his moral superiority and religiosity due to his unbelief.

Nicodemus understood the message and believed. Later he would defend Jesus among his peers and even help to bury him in the tomb.

The Jews expected the Messiah to come and judge all these nations. Jesus, the Messiah comes and they rejected Him. In the end, He opened the gospel to the ends of the earth.

According to history, Nicodemus was one of the three wealthiest men in Jerusalem, he was the most noble and respected teacher in all of Israel, though he knew the Old Testament stories, he did not know God.

Conclusion:

There is a superficial belief that keeps people from true faith.

Maybe that is what you’ve had. You prayed the prayer and walked the aisle.

But have you been born again? Have you been changed, transformed, been made new by the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

When the gospel goes to work in you, your old mind that used to be filled with thoughts of self, and lust, and pride are now replaced with a sense of holiness and love and a desire for God.

Your passion for the things of God increase, you become more generous and loving. Others are attracted to your faith, not your works.

Is this you? Or are the people we looked at earlier with a superficial faith a better picture of you?

You believe in Jesus, but it’s not a belief that has changed you, or one that can withstand persecution or hard times or being alone or temptation.

You don’t really “walk with God.” You say you believe in him, but there’s no relationship there. You don’t know really how to talk with him.

If that is true for you, then isn’t it clear that you have a superficial faith and not a saving faith?

If so, fix your eyes on Jesus, run into His warm embrace, and surrender to His love today. Repent of your sinful rebellion and believe in His gracious mercy.

Don’t wait until it is too late, (motorcycle accident testimony).

Hymn of Invitation

No. 317

Only Trust Him

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