Transcript

Sermon Transcript: How Can I Inherit Eternal Life?

11/7/2021 Jeff Schwarzentraub 35 min read

Lord, we just come before you today. And we ask you to move mightily through your living and active word that you would speak directly to each one of our hearts, because Lord, we believe every time your word is open and faithfully proclaimed that you speak directly to our hearts. And so Lord, we're inviting you right now, speak Lord for we are ready to hear. And now for all those who are gathered, who desire to hear the word of the Lord, who will believe what Jesus says to you and will by faith put into practice what he shows you, will you agree with me very loudly this morning by saying the word, amen.

Amen.

Amen. I began in the ministry at the age of 24 and I was called to a small church outside of Chicago. And in that church, there were about a hundred people and there were four youth that I was responsible for. So I wanted to meet all four of them. And then I got on the list for kids that used to come, but never came anymore. And I was meeting all the kids and for some of the guys that I met, rather than just go to their house and hang out or go get a Coke or do something, I thought it'd be good to do something active so we could be talking while we did it. And so for one of the young men, his name was Trey. We decided to go to the health club and workout together. Now keep in mind, I was 24 years old at the time. And so I remember we got to the gym and we started out just by talking, but we started shooting hoops and shooting hoops turned into a competition and to see who could shoot better and who was a better athlete.

And I began to think to myself, this isn't working, we got to go do something else. So I said, "Well, let's lift weights." Well that turned into a competition as to who could bench more and who could press more and all those things. So I said why don't we just go get on a treadmill that way you and I can just talk and walk. And so that's what we did. And I remember I got on the treadmill right here and Trey got on the one to my right. And I started at about three, which is like a 20 minute mile as it was walking and talking. And I knew enough to ask him questions. And so I didn't have to worry about being out of breath. And I began to ask him, "Hey, tell me about your family. What's your relationship like with your dad? And what's your relationship like with your mom? And I know you have a younger brother.

Do you guys get along? And what do you want to do when you grow up? And what are some of your goals and what do you think about church and what you think about Jesus? And we're having this conversation, but as we're having the conversation, I remember I looked down at his timer and mine said three, but his said like 3.3. And suddenly began to go off my heart. I'm like, I can't let this guy beat me? And so I cranked mine up to about 3.6 while he wasn't looking. And we kept talking and as I was asking him questions, the next thing I knew his was like at four. And then I began to walk a little faster. Mine was at 4.3 and we just continued to talk as if nothing was happening. Pretty soon, it was at six and we were running 10 minute miles, but we were jogging and I knew enough to ask him questions so I could still breathe and we're just going.

And it just kept going back and forth. And pretty soon our clock was like at 10, we were running sub six minute miles. I mean, I remember being on a treadmill. There was no talking anymore. We were just sprinting. I was pouring sweat. And the only thing I kept thinking about is, Lord, don't let me slip in front of this kid. That will be totally embarrassing getting shot off the back and of this. And sure enough, the 20 minutes ended, we got done. We're looking at each other, we're laughing. And my monitor said, I went one tenth of a mile further than him. And I remember exactly what I said. I'm like, "I beat you, you little punk, don't you ever." Like any good youth pastor would do that, trying to build rapport. And then we stepped off the treadmill. And I remember exactly my thought.

We were both in the exact same place as we started. We hadn't gotten any further. And even though the monitor read that we had gained some distance, the fact was we hadn't gained any ground at all. And I think a lot of us in our spiritual lives are just like that. Perhaps we pursued different things or we read different books, or we talk to different people in hopes that we'll get a grasp upon what it means to have a relationship with God and what that looks like. But as time goes on, we may feel like we're better than somebody. We may feel like we've grown closer to God. But at the end of the day, we don't feel any closer than we ever did before we got started.

And if you've ever wanted to know how it is that you can inherit eternal life. If you've ever wanted to know how is it I can have a relationship with God? If you've ever wanted to know, what does the Bible say about having a relationship, a personal relationship with God, then today's message is for you. Because God wants you to know what it looks like to have a relationship with him. And he wants you to be in relationship with him. And to take a look at what we're going to do today, we're going to open our Bibles and take a look at a story found in Luke chapter 18, where Jesus encountered a young man. And we're going to read through that story and then I'm going to unpack it. And we're going to take a look at three things about that story that can help you if you've ever wanted to know, how can I have a personal relationship with God, or does God really exist?

Or is this Bible really true? If you've ever wondered those things, then today's word is for you. Let me read the story and then we'll unpack it together. He says a ruler questioned him saying, "Good teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?" And Jesus said to him, "Why do you call me good? No one is good, except God alone. You know the commandments, do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not bear false witness. Honor your father and mother." And he said, "All these things I've kept from my youth." When Jesus heard this, he said to him, "One thing, you still lack, sell all that you possess and distribute it to the poor and you shall have treasure in heaven and come follow me." But when he heard these things, he became very sad for he was extremely rich.

And Jesus looked at him and said, "How hard it is for those who are wealthy to enter the kingdom of God. For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." There you heard it said, then who can be saved? But he said, "The things that are impossible with people are possible with God." And here in the short encounter he had with this rich young ruler, we can learn what it means to have eternal life. And how is it that we can inherit eternal life? Because God wants you to know that he loves you and he wants to be in relationship with you. And so the story picks up and it says a ruler questioned him saying, "Good teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?"

If you really want to know if God is real here, here's the first step you need to do. Seek Christ and ask questions, seek Christ and ask questions. Some people want to seek all these other things other than Christ. The Bible makes clear that in the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God, but the word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. There was a song written years ago. The title of the song was, What If God Was One Of Us. Jesus says, "I am God among you." If you ever want to know what God would be like, if he were on the planet, all you need to do is study the person and work of Jesus And you will see exactly who God is and how he responds to people. Because Jesus Christ has always existed. But 2000 years ago, he put on flesh and he fulfilled the law and he did everything required of his father.

And so we get a picture of what God looks like in the flesh. So if you've ever wondered, what's true, seek Jesus and ask questions. And it's important to ask your questions because I think sometimes when you come to church, church is the place that you're least likely to ask questions. But what greater question could you ever ask than what happens when I die? Because all of you know fundamentally that one day that you are going to age and you are going to die, and it doesn't matter how many creams, potions, or trips to the gym that you have, eventually you're going to wear out and die. Everybody knows that. So what happens? Why is it that you ask questions as to what happens when you die? Here's why, because the Bible says that God has set eternity in your heart.

There's nothing more natural for you to do than ask what happens when I die. It's natural because you were created in the image of God. Unlike trees, unlike stars, unlike animals, you were created with a soul that is destined to go somewhere and you will live eternally somewhere. You'll either live eternally with God, or you will be separated from God forever. The Bible makes clear that you won't just go into the ground and cease to exist. You are an eternal being created by any eternal God. And how you respond to him on this side of heaven is so important. It's why you continue to ask where do I go for the answers and where do I get the answers? And how do I know? I would tell you this, seek Christ and ask questions. And here's why you need to ask questions. Because those things inside of you that you're asking questions about are so important.

I mean, think about it like this. For many of you, you don't invest with a financial advisor until you ask your financial advisor all sorts of questions. For many of you, you don't buy a house until you talk to your realtor and you find out everything there is to know about the house before you make that purchase. Before you go off and pay thousands of dollars to colleges, you oftentimes visit the school and ask several different questions because you want to know what you're getting into. If you're going to spend eternity somewhere, then there's no greater questions you could ask than what's going to happen when I die. That's why this rich young ruler that seemingly had it all in the world, came to Jesus when Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem to be crucified for the sins of the world and said, "Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?"

In other words, he's inherited a lot of wealth, he's extremely rich, the Bible says. He seemingly has it all, but there's something nagging inside of his heart that he wonders, "Hey, what happens when I die? And I want to make sure that when I die, I get to experience life eternally. I want to make sure I'm on the right side of that decision." So you ask questions. In church, it's hard to ask questions sometimes because we just kind of want to give the right answers and look like we're smart. It's like little Johnny that was in Sunday school class one day, he was asked the question, "Hey, what is brown and has a fairy tale and crawls up in the tree and eats nuts." And Johnny said, "I don't know, it sounds like a squirrel, but I'll say Jesus."

And that's how many of us approach questions at church. We're afraid to ask the true deep questions that we don't understand because we're afraid of what other people might say. Here's a man that's coming and falling at Jesus' feet and asking him questions because he truly wants to know what the answer is. What must I do to inherit eternal life? And here's Jesus's answer. And he says, "Why do you call me good?" Now listen to what he says. He says, "No one is good, except God alone." No one is good except God alone. Now, and I hear what Jesus is saying. He's saying, your definition of goodness is skewed in this world. We'll say things like this, he's a good guy. She's a good girl. My neighbor's a good person. Not according to the Bible. Goodness is perfection. Goodness is always doing the right thing.

Goodness is keeping your promises 100% of the time. Goodness is being faithful all the time. Goodness is being merciful all the time. Goodness is been forgiving all the time. Goodness means perfection. Jesus says, no one is good, but who? God. None of us are good. The Bible makes clear there is no one good, no, not one. The Bible says all of us have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Jesus wants this young man to know that only God is good. You're not good. And so he begins to tell him about how he can know that for himself. And he tells them a little bit about the law, the 10 commandments. He gives them five of them. He says, "You know the commandments. Do not commit adultery, do not murder. Do not steal. Do not bear false witness. Honor your father and mother."

So he tells him about five of the different commandments, commandments 7, 6, 8, 9, and five. All the commandments that relate to how you treat one another. If you truly love God, then this is how you're going to treat other people. So he tells him, "Hey, this is what you need to know." And the man says this, this is how he answers, "All of these things, I have kept from my youth." Do you see a problem here? Jesus just told this man there's no one good, but God. He tells them what the commandments are. And here's what his response is, I'm good too. I've kept them all. Now, all it takes is a quick walk through the 10 commandments to realize every single one of us has broken every single one. You want to just take a look at this real quick.

I mean, some of you are here today and you say, "Well, I haven't broke them all. I haven't broke the seventh commandment, do not commit adultery. I'm not even married. I've never even been married before." Jesus said, "You've heard it said, do not commit adultery, but I tell you, he who looks lustfully upon a woman that is not is wife has committed adultery with her." Adultery is when you lust after someone that's not your spouse and women it also means that when you want to be emotionally connected to someone that's not your husband and you kind of lust for that, that's committing adultery. You ever done that in your entire life. Anybody that's hit puberty has done that, you're guilty. Every single one of us is guilty of that. What about the do not murder, do not murder. Here's what he says. He says this, "You've heard it said do not kill, but I tell you anybody who has called his brother an idiot has committed murder in his heart."

Do you have any siblings? Have you ever driven on I-25? You're a murderer. Do not steal, it means that you've never ever taken something from somebody else that doesn't belong to you. You've never taken a pencil from work. You've never taken something from a family member. You've never ever taken anything that doesn't belong to. Do not bear false witnesses. There ever been a time in your life where you've ever said anything about anybody behind their back that you wouldn't want to say in front of them or that you've said something slanderous or malicious about somebody. What about honoring your father and mother means from the time that you came out of your womb, all you've ever done is honor your mom and dad, every single time. You've always done what they said. 100% of the time. And as they've aged, you've taken care of them in every possible way.

Every single one of us has broke every single one of the commandments. Jesus is saying, "I'm good. Let me tell you what the commandments are so that you will know that you're not good. So you can have a proper diagnosis of you." And as Jesus is trying to diagnose this young man, here's what he says, "I'm good too." According to my understanding, I'm better than most people. And I've kept those things. See, Jesus wants to give us a diagnosis so that we understand that we're not as good as we think we are. Because even when we ask the right question sometimes, and we're looking for the right answers, we get skewed because of where we are positionally when we're asking them. We need to realize that we're standing in front of a holy God and asking him the question, not our neighbor the question. We're not asking somebody else at work.

Am I good? We're not asking our parents, are we good? We're asking the perfect, holy God of the universe, am I good? And if you ask, he will answer. And we need to position ourselves correctly. It reminds me of the time when I served in that little church outside of Chicago, I served in a town called Joliet, Illinois, Joliet, Illinois. And I invited a friend and his wife to come and visit me one day. And they were on their way. And he was late, which he was never late. And when he got to my house I said, "Hey, what was the hold up? What happened?" And he said, "Well, on the way here, my wife and I got in an argument and I thought the name of your town was Jolliet, Illinois. And my wife thought it was Juliet, Illinois. And we want to know what town we were in.

And I knew if I came and asked you, you would just side with my wife. So we pulled off to the first place we could find. And we walked into the building and I walked up to the counter and I said, 'Hey, would you very slowly enunciate where we are?' And the person leaned across the counter and said, Wendy's." See the reason that we're called to seek Christ, and the reason we have to position our questions towards him is because he's the one who claimed that he was God, nobody else has ever made that claim and fulfilled it. Jesus Christ, that I am the way the truth and the life, no one comes to the father, except through me. Jesus said when he was being tried by Caiaphas, the high priest, are you the Christ? And here's what his response was, "I am. And the next time you see me, I'll be coming on the clouds in judgment."

He was telling the high priest, you see me now and you can judge me, but one day I'll be coming back and judging you and the whole world. And at this point, the high priest tore his robe and said, "He thinks he's God." And Jesus is saying, "I am God. I've always been God." So we're supposed to see Christ and ask questions. One of the great ways to do that, if you read your Bible is to perhaps start in the gospel of John. Maybe you're new to Bible reading. John is the fourth book in the New Testament. It Chronicles the life of Jesus Christ, says what he did in his ministry. And if you read through that text and ask yourself two questions, who does Jesus say he is? And do I believe that? That would be a great way for you to get started and asking your questions?

I mean, I love the gospel of John because it uses the verb for faith and believe 97 times every single time as a verb. I call it the porky pig gospel because you read John, it's like believe, believe, believe, believe, believe. That's all folks. I mean, so if you're ever curious about what it looks like to believe, read John's gospel and ask yourself the question do I really believe this? Because Jesus was trying to diagnose this man and let him know that he wasn't as good as he thought he was. Because all of us will always make comparisons to other people. If I ask you to raise your hand and say, do you know anybody that you're better than? Every single one of us would be like this? But when we compare ourselves to the perfect sovereign of the universe, that's where we fall short.

You very well may be better than other people or more philanthropic than people or more kind than other people. But when it comes to comparison of a perfect, holy infinite God, that's where you fall short. And the reason that's such a big deal is when you die, that's who you're going to stand in front of to give an account for your life. That's why it's a big deal. If every person who's ever passed away, that you knew could come and talk to you, they would tell you this heaven and hell are real places. And Jesus Christ is the one who decides where you spend your eternity. And the only way you're ever going to spend eternity with God is by repenting of your sins and trusting Christ on this side of heaven.

Amen.

Everybody would tell you that. And so Jesus is making a diagnosis because he wants this young man to know that he loves him. And so we're called to seek Christ and ask questions. That's exactly what this young man is doing. Number two is this, open your heart to Christ, open your heart to Christ. That means will you really listen to what God is saying to you? Because sometimes even when we're in church and we hear the things that God is speaking us, and some of you that are visiting or some of you that are here, feel like... I feel like this guy knows me. And he's speaking to me. That's not me. That's the holy spirit in your life talking directly to you because God wants you to know that he's alive. And God wants you to know that he's real. And God wants to personally be in relationship with you. And from the time you were conceived, he spent all his time trying to let you know that he's the Lord and that he's in love with you.

That's who our God is. But you have to open your heart and be willing to receive because God loves you enough as a free moral agent to allow you to harden your heart and say, "I want nothing to do with him." And he'll allow you to do that because he doesn't mandate that you love him. He allows you to choose him and he will do everything in his power to bring you to himself. But you've got to open up your heart and receive him by faith. And so as Jesus spells out these commandments to him and he doesn't get it, Jesus is going to take him further. He's going to diagnose his condition and notice what happens. After this man says, "I've done all these since I was a kid." Jesus said to him, "One thing, you still lack." Let me tell you about one thing in your life that I know about you, that you know about you, that you're unwilling to deal with.

One thing you still lack. So all that you possessed and distributed to the poor and you shall have treasure in heaven and come follow me. Jesus was saying, there's one thing in the way of our relationship and that is this, you love your money more than you love me. So here's your problem. Go sell everything you have and give it to the poor and then come follow me and you'll have great reward in heaven. Now, why did he talk about this man's money? Because for that man, that was his hindrance. The Bible is going to tell us he was extremely rich. Now, just so you don't tune out here. You need to hear this because for some of you are like, "I'm not extremely rich." For a third of the world's population, they live off about $2 every single day.

In light of the world's population, let me tell you something. You are extremely rich if you're listening to my voice today, it hinders your walk with Christ. Because for many of us, we have this comfort thing. We want to live our life now, we want to have our best life here. See for many of us, here's what we think, we think that we can become a better version of ourselves, we can make ourselves better. And we have a version that the world is going to become a better place. That's why self-help books are all over the place. Go to a bookstore, they still have bookstores anymore? Okay, you can go to bookstore, go to Amazon, look up self-help books, they're there by the thousands because in alien our heart, we want to know, I can get better at this. I can become better at this. Why? Because originally you walked with God and we're a better version of yourself before sin entered into the world.

And we crave that kind of lifestyle, but it's not coming on this side of heaven. And why do we think the world can become a better place? Because originally it was in the way God created the world was perfect and God was in union and community with his creation. And he loved us and our hearts crave for that. And so we falsely think that on this side of heaven, we're going to create a perfect world in utopia and we're going to be the best version of ourselves. And it never happens. And it never will. What you've truly been searching for is a relationship with the God of the universe, through the person and work of Jesus Christ. And through him and him alone, can you find purpose and meaning and yearn for the world that is going to come. That is going to be perfect and everlasting and without sin and be awesome.

So God invites us into that relationship. So he diagnosis this guy. What would he diagnose with you? I don't know. See, we like to tell God, Lord, you can have anything in my life except for... And then we'd like to fill in the blank. You can have anything in my life, except for my kids. You can have anything in my life except for my dating life. I'm in control of that. You can have anything in my life except for my marriage. You can have anything in my life except for my money. You can have anything in my life except for my vocation. You can have anything in my life except for my possessions. Lord, you can have anything in my life except for... And every time we say, except for, we miss out on the fullness of what Jesus Christ wants to offer us.

In Mark's gospel, when he tells the story, it says that Jesus looked at this man and loved him. He loved him enough to tell him about his true condition. If you go see a doctor this week and they diagnose you with stage four cancer. They're doing it because they love you. If the doctor says, "Well, they just going to get really mad at me if I tell them that. I'm just going to tell them they look great." That wouldn't be a very loving doctor. Jesus is willing to diagnose your sin condition because every one of us has sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. And every single one of us has done that in unique ways, based upon our temperament, personality, experience, all the environment that we grew up in, and we have a track record of sin, every single one of us. And Jesus is like, "Yeah, that's what's keeping you from me."

And you think that you can have relationship with me by just kind of going a little bit in, and you think you're a Christian because you go to church on Sunday, or you joined a small group or you're part of this political party, or you give a little money or you do these different things. And none of that means anything. Here's what Jesus says, "You're a sinner. And sin is what kills you. The wages of sin is death." The reason every single one of you is going to die is because of your sin. It's the number one killer on the planet. It takes everybody out. It's the most dangerous virus in the world and there's only one cure. And it's the person and work of Jesus Christ on the cross. Amen.

And God wants us to be warned. Not because he doesn't love us, but because he does. He's just telling us, "Hey, this is your condition. You're going to need to deal with this because you can run away from it, but you need to be aware of it." It reminds me of the story of the burglar that broke into the home one night. And as he was getting ready to steal a stereo and different TVs and all their expensive silverware and all this, he heard a voice saying, "Be careful, Jesus is watching." He said, "What in the world was that?" He continued to go about it. He's like, "No, be careful Jesus is watching." He wondered what it was. He started spinning his flashlight around and he saw a parrot.

And as he shined the flash on the parrot, the parrot said, "Be careful Jesus is watching." He's like, "You're a talking parrot." And he's like, "Yes, my name's Moses." And he said, "What kind of homeowner, would name their talking parrot Moses." And he said, "The same kind of owner that would name their pit bull, Jesus." Be careful Jesus is watching. He's trying to warn him of what was to come. I'm trying to warn you of what is to come. Not because I don't love you, but because I do. And I believe it's my responsibility as a pastor to tell you faithfully from the word of God, that you've all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. And if you don't deal with that, you will meet Jesus Christ face to face, the moment that you die. And here's what he's going to say to you, "Depart from me you worker of iniquity, because I never knew you."

And you're going to go spend eternity apart from anyone, apart from any community forever and ever. Why? Because you offended an eternal holy God, who made a way for you to have relationship with them. And you chose by your own volition to say, "I don't want anything to do with him." The Bible makes it clear that God does not want anybody to go to hell. The Bible makes it clear that God takes no delight in the death of wicked people. The Bible makes it clear that God so loved the world so much that he sent his only begotten son, Jesus Christ. So that whoever believes in him would not perish, but would have eternal life. Jesus Christ came on purpose because he wanted you to know of his great love for him. He left his heavenly throne room to come to earth, become incarnate, flesh, fulfill the law, what you could never do and die on the cross in your place.

The reason that you die is because of sin, but Jesus Christ didn't have any sin, so why did Jesus Christ die? Because in the very last of his life, when he was pinned to a cross, God, the father took all the sin of humanity and placed it on him. He put your sin on him and he put your sin on him, way up in the balcony. And he put your sin on him, way up back there, he put your sin on him down here. And he put your sin on him over there. And even on this side of the room, he put your sin on him and up there and over there and down here. And he put my sin on him and the Broomfield Campus, all your sin got put on him. And those listening online, all your sin was put on him. And therefore he gave up his life and died because of your sin.

He took the punishment that you deserved. It would be, as if you could imagine this, if you had a deadly disease like cancer and Jesus took it all out of you and put it all on him and died. But then he vindicated the fact that he was truly God by rising from the dead, overcoming death, and then offering life to anyone who would repent and trust in him. And God's desire is for you to know him. Amen.

Amen.

He wants to be in relationship with you. He loves you with an unconditional love. That's who our God is. And we need to open our heart to Christ. But notice what this man did, verse 23. But when he had heard these things, he became very sad for he was extremely rich. Here's what Jesus says, "What does it profit a man to gain the entire world and yet forfeit his soul." Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? Let me just tell you this, you can live a good life in this life without Jesus Christ. You can have success in this life without Jesus Christ. You can be happy in this life without Jesus Christ, but what does it profit you if when you face your eternity, you trade in all of that for an eternity separated from God, in hell, separated from all other people. It's not worth it.

Jesus wants you to know that what you're preparing for is an eternity and are you ready for the eternity that is set for yourself? That's why this young ruler wanted to know, "Hey, how do I inherit eternal life?" How can I be sure I've got a relationship with God? How can I be sure that when I breathed my last I'm with God and I'm loved and cherished, and I'm presented faultless before the throne. I want to know how to do that. And Jesus told him, "Here's what you need to do." And instead of saying, "Okay, good, I'm in." He walked away sad because he said this in his heart, "I'd rather have my possessions than a relationship with God." And we don't know what happened. The Bible doesn't tell us. Later in life, before he died, that he give his life to Christ. I don't know Bible doesn't say, but at this point in time, he sure didn't.

And he walked away sad. And it's really interesting because not only we need to seek Christ and ask questions and open our heart to Christ, but we need to, number three, have a proper response to Christ. This was not the proper response. And you would think when he walked away that Jesus would be like, "Oh no, no, no, don't do that. Maybe I offended you. I'm really, really sorry. And oh, by the way, if you're really rich, come back, fund our ministry. We could really use a guy like you." It's not what he says. He looks at this man. And he says, "How hard it is for those who are wealthy to enter the kingdom of God. For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." How hard it is. I get it. Your love is your money. And when your love is your money, it's hard to give your allegiance to me.

When your love is this world, it's hard to give your allegiance to me. When your love is illicit sexual relationships, it's hard for you to give your heart to me. When your heart is drugs, it's hard for you to give your heart to me. When your heart is pride, it's hard for you to give your heart to me. It's easier for a camel, one of the largest animals to go through the eye of a sewing needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. He says, why? Because when you have comforts in this world, you're only thinking about how can my life be better here rather than thinking about the bigger question, which is, where am I going to spend eternity? And what's my life going to be like there? It's hard when we're focused on this. Jesus didn't come just to give you your greatest experiences here on the planet.

Jesus came to rescue you from certain death and hell and judgment before a holy righteous God, so that you could have relationship with him. It means this. It doesn't matter how many times you've been to church or what you think you are or how better you think you are than anybody else. You need to have a proper response to him. When people heard this, here's what they said, "Then who can be saved." In other words, if this good guy here, who's trying to keep the law, who's trying to do good stuff, can't be saved, then who can be saved?" And here's what Jesus said, "The things that are impossible with people are possible with God." That's what he said. The things that are impossible with people are possible with God. What does that mean? God's the only one that can save you.

God's the only one that can do that work. God's the only one that can do that. And it's glorious when we get to the place where we know that only God can save us because we have this thought in our heart, that's self preservation and we always want to stay alive. It reminds me of the story of the pilot that was flying. And he had four passengers and the plane was having trouble. And the pilot exited the cabin. He said, "Guys, this plane is going down. There's only four parachutes for the five of us." And he took one of the parachutes and jumped off the plane. And there are four people left standing. And the next guy said, he goes, "I'm a leading heart surgeon." He goes, "I save millions of lives." He goes, "The world needs me." And he took a parachute and jumped off, leaving three people and two parachutes. And the next guy said, he goes, "I'm the smartest man in the world." He goes, "My theories and what I'm presenting to people will change the whole planet."

And he took a parachute and jumped off. And now there's one parachute left. And there was a pastor and a little kid. And the pastor looked at a little kid, he said, "You go ahead and take the parachute." He goes, "I know Jesus." He goes, "I know where I'm going. And I want to let you know that Jesus Christ died for you. And he rose from the dead. And you can have life with him too. So just make sure you do this. I'm going to die here in a minute, but you go ahead and live." And the little boy said, "That's okay, pastor." He goes, "You don't need to tell me all about this." He goes, "There's actually two parachutes. The smartest man in the world just took my backpack." When you come to a place of salvation, it is freeing. It is good news. It is understanding you didn't do anything to earn it, but it was a gift that was given to you.

Jesus Christ came not to punish you. Jesus Christ came on this first trip to this world to set you free and to give you life and have a relationship with you. It's why from time to time in your life, you would say, 'Well, I've always kind of believed in God or I had an experience with God, or I felt this in a worship service, or I did this." That's because that was Jesus whispering to you that I am real and you need to have a relationship with me, but that's not how you have a relationship. A relationship comes through two words. It's called repentance and faith. Repentance is God's gift to you to show you that you're a sinner. And to lead you by his grace to experience his mercy. It's letting you know that if you stay in the condition that you're in, living the sins that you sin and don't have any remorse for what you do, you will spend eternity separated from God.

And God awakens your heart. And for some of you, your heart has been awakened this morning to let you know that he loves you enough to show you that you're dead in your sins and that you don't have a relationship with God. It's why when you pray your prayers bounce off the ceiling. It's why when you come to church, you wonder why does else have what I don't have? It's because you're dead in your sins. And when you repent, you start turning from your sin to Jesus. And that's where faith comes in. That's trust. That's where you believe that Jesus Christ and him alone is the only one that can save you from your sins. It's Jesus Christ. That's why he made this claim, "I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the father, except through me."

There's only one way to God. And it's the person and work of Jesus Christ. That's the only way you can ever experience God. You say, "Well, Pastor Jeff, I know some people that are of different faith and they're very spiritual." I'm like, "Yeah, they're very spiritual. And they're very lost. And they need to repent and trust Jesus Christ, or they have no hope." You say, "Well, why do you say that?" Because Jesus said that. He said, "If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this generation, I'll be ashamed of him when I come with all of my holy angels." We have time and space to believe the gospel. And let me just tell you this, believing in Christ is not just the gift of getting eternal life.

That's true. You get that right away because God, the father sent his son Jesus, to indwell you with his holy spirit. But better news than that is you get to walk with him every day of your life until you meet him face to face. So for some of you that are here, that don't feel comforted or don't feel loved, or don't feel trusted or don't feel cared for, I got good news for you today. The God of the universe loves you. And he brought you here today to let you know how much he loves you. And he demonstrated 2000 years ago that while you were still a sinner, Christ died for you. Amen. You may say, "Well, how do I know how much God loves me?" Because he demonstrated it. Study the world over every religion there's no other faith in the world where God made a claim that he came for you and died for your sins.

Only Jesus did. Only Jesus died, only Jesus rose from the dead, only Jesus is the one that's coming back. Only Jesus is the one that you're going to stand before someday. So the biggest question that you'll ever answer on this side of heaven is, what are you going to do with Jesus? You're not born a Christian. I wasn't born a Christian. When I was told this, when I was 18, I was so angry by this. I was at a Young Life camp and somebody told me this whole thing. And I started quoting Bible verses. And I started telling them how I was good. And I not only went to a Methodist church, I went to a Lutheran grade school. So I was doubly protected. And I've been baptized as a six month year old, I was told. So I thought I was good. And this guy, the way he was talking to me made me feel bad.

Like he's not recognizing what a good person I was. And I remember saying to him, "The way you're talking to me, makes it sound like God would love murderers and prostitutes and people that steal from one another, the same way he loves someone like me." I thought I had him. And he said, "That's exactly what I'm saying to you." And I remember my response, if that's who God is, I would never serve a God like that. Because I've tried really hard. But it was that week that God convicted me of my own sin and my own pride. And I stopped comparing myself with other people. And I started comparing myself with God and realized I was dead in my transgressions and sins. And not my religion wasn't going to cut it on the day that I met Jesus. And I stood to my feet that week and I said, "This week, I commit my life to my Lord and savior Jesus Christ."

Because I knew I needed my sins forgiven. And I knew I needed that relationship with Christ. And God has been saving people all over the world since Jesus Christ rose from the dead. Here's the question, do you know where you're going to go? I can't tell you when you're going to die. I don't know that, I don't even know when I'm going to die. I'm not looking forward to my death, but I am looking forward that when I die, I will be in the arms of God and not because of anything I've done and not because I'm a pastor and not because I've tried to be faithful in presenting the word and not because of anything else, but simply this, that when I was 18 years old, I believe that Jesus Christ shed his blood for all my sin. And he rose from the dead. And I want to turn from my sin and give my life to Christ.

So here's the question today, be it here, in this room, be it in Broomfield, be it online, do you know where you're going to go? If you were to breathe your last breath today and stand before the Lord, what would you tell him when he says, "Why should I let you into my kingdom?" If it's anything that you've done, you're wrong. I went to the BRAVE Church, doesn't matter. I was in a small group, doesn't matter. I served in that church, it doesn't matter. I gave a lot of money to that church, it doesn't matter. There's only one response, Jesus, I repented of my sins and I trusted you alone. And that's the only reason why I'm coming into your kingdom. And he would say, "Well done, good and faithful servant. Enter your rest."

So I want to give you an opportunity to respond to the gospel today. Now, sometimes the pastor will do this and I think that's okay. Hey, everybody bow your head. Everybody close your eyes and we'll pray some prayer and then raise your hand. But I know this, God is speaking to some of you today. And he's told you that you don't have a relationship with me. And he's been speaking to your heart. And you know, he's speaking to your heart because you felt conviction the whole time that I've been talking. That's God's holy spirit convicting you of sin, righteousness, and judgment. He's letting you know how much he loves you. And that's his invitation for you today to give your life to him. And there's no greater time than to give your life to the Lord. The Bible says today, "If you hear his voice, do not harden your heart."

So in a minute, I'm going to give you an opportunity to respond to the gospel. And here's what I'm going to invite you to do, if God's been speaking to your heart and you're like, "I want that. I want to turn from my sin and I want Jesus in my life." I'm just going to invite you to stand, just stand to your feet. And when you do, here's what you're going to receive. You're going to see a group of people around here. They're going to cheer for you. We've had people standing all morning. You're not the only one, just so you know. And the Bible says, "Even if you were, there's more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over 99 that don't need to." Which means there's some of you here and is God's saying to you, "Come to me."

And it doesn't mean that you're not saved if you don't stand, but I'm telling you this, if he's speaking to your heart, you remember it for the rest of your life, if you do, because God wants you to know today is your day of salvation. So wherever you are right now, if you want to give your life to Jesus Christ, would you just stand right where you are, so that we can praise God for what he's doing in your heart.

Stay standing for just a second. Stay standing for just a second. Try to stand for just a second. Praise God. Amen. You may be seated. I just want to tell you there's a lot of decisions that you'll make in your life, but there's none that will be more powerful than the one that God just did in your heart right now. None. What just happened here is eternities were changed and we're cheering for you because we know we're going to spend eternity with you. Because we share the same father. We're all now brothers and sisters in Christ. Amen.

Amen.

Amen. That's a great day. So before I finish, let me just pray. I'm just going to have you all pray it out loud after me. If you'd be willing to do that. And for those who just trusted Christ, I want to let you know a prayer doesn't save you. This is not a magic prayer or a magic formula, but it'll just cement in your heart what Christ did for you today and will remind you of all that he's done. Would you just pray with me and repeat after me. Dear Jesus.

Dear Jesus.

I thank you for dying on the cross for my sins.

I thank you for dying on the cross for my sins.

I thank you for rising from the dead.

I thank you for rising from the dead.

Right now I repent of my sins.

Right now I repent of my sins.

And I invite you to be the Lord of my life.

And I invite you to be the Lord of my life.

Let me pray for you, Lord Jesus, for what you just did today, we give you all the glory, honor and praise. We celebrate you. We honor you. Lord fill afresh with your holy spirit, every single one of us who believes in you and Lord, let us just continue to walk with you all the days of our life. Lord, thank you for changing eternities right here in our midst. And for all you're doing, we give you all the glory, all the honor, and all the praise in Jesus name. Amen. Can we give God some praise this morning. Amen.